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Canadian  Inttituta  for  Historical  Microraproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiquas 


m'^:..^mr^H:'^-^m 


■vi'  ■ ;  .!fei'i!<'i< 


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I      1   Covers  damaged  / 


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lOx 

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Th«  eepy  filmsd  h«r«  Hm  b—n  r*predue«4  thanks 
to  th«  9«n«fe«ity  of: 

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L'aaampiaira  film4  fut  rapreduit  grica  A  ia 
SAntrosiU  da: 

Bibliothaqua  nationala  du  Canada 


Tha  imagaa  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
poaaibia  conaidaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  eenuact  apacificationa. 


Original  eopiaa  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  fUmad 
baginning  with  ttia  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  impraa- 
sion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  origirtal  capias  ara  filmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impraa- 
sion.  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illuatratad  imprassion. 


Tha  last  rscordad  frama  on  aach  microficha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  «-»•  (maaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  ▼  (maaning  "END"), 
whichavar  applias. 

Maps,  platas.  charts,  ate.  may  ba  filmad  at 
diffarant  raduction  ratios.  Thosa  too  larga  to  ba 
antiraly  includad  in  ona  axposura  ara  filmad 
baginning  in  tha  uppsr  laft  hand  cornor,  laft  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  framas  as 
raquirad.  Tha  following  diagrams  illustrata  tha 
mathod: 


Las  imagas  suivantas  ont  AtA  raproduitas  svsc  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tonu  da  la  condition  st 
da  la  nattati  da  raiamplairs  filmS.  st  en 
eonformita  avae  las  conditions  du  contrst  d« 
filmaga. 

Laa  aaamplalraa  originaua  dont  la  eouvartura  •n 
papiar  ast  Imprimaa  sont  filmas  •n  commancant 
par  la  pramiar  plat  at  an  tarminant  soit  par  la 
darniira  paga  qui  comporta  una  ampraints 
d'imprassien  ou  d'iilustration,  soit  par  la  sscond 
plat,  salon  la  eas.  Toua  laa  autras  axamplairss 
originaua  sont  filmte  •n  eommancant  par  la 
pramiira  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'impraaaion  ou  d'iilustration  at  an  tarminant  par 
la  darniira  paga  qui  comporta  una  talla 
amprainta. 

Un  das  symbolas  suivants  spparaitra  sur  la 
dmrnikf  imaga  da  chaqua  microficha.  salon  la 
cas:  la  symbols  — *>  signifis  "A  SUIVRE".  la 
symbols  ▼  signifis  "FIN". 

Las  cartas,  planchas.  tablaaux.  ate.  pauvant  itra 
filmis  *  das  taux  da  rSduction  diffArants. 
Lorsqua  la  documant  ast  trap  grsnd  pour  Strs 
raproduit  an  un  saul  cliehS.  il  ast  filmS  A  psrtir 
da  I'angla  sup4riaur  gaucha,  da  gaucha  A  droita. 
at  da  haut  an  bas.  an  pranant  la  nombra 
d'imagas  nacassaira.  Las  diagrammas  suivsnts 
illustrant  la  mathoda. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

MlCaOCOrV   RIKHUTION   TKT   CHART 

(ANSI  ond  ISO  TEST  CHART  No    ?1 


1.0 


I.I 


U^|2.8      1 2.5 

2.0 
1.8 


132 


136 


1.6 


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■%•  Rochester.   Ne*    ^orh        14609       jSA 

,SS  ("6)    482       OiOO   -  Phone 

SS  (716)   288  -  5989  -  Fa« 


JEWISH   THEOLOGY 


^""^^^^ 


THE  MALMILLAN   COMI'ANV 

NBW  yO«K    ■    HIIHTON    •    CNICAOO   •    DALLAI 
ATLANTA   ■    (AN    rilAHCIV.O 

MACMII.I.AN   (k  CO..  I.IMITID 

LONUON   •    (OMHAV   •    LALCUTTA 
MILBOIUNI 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OK  CANAKA,  Ltd. 

TOBONTO 


JEWISH   THEOLOGY 


SYSTKMATICAM.Y  AM)   HISTORICALLY 
CONSIDHRLI) 


BY 

Dr.   K.   KOHLER 

PRESIDENT 
HEBREW  UNION  COLLEGE 


ytio  gorfc 

THE   MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1918 

^l  rigiti  rturtii 


mm 


CorvaiCMT.  ifil. 
Bv  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 

SM  up  u4  aktuixypad.    PuMmImiI  rtbruMy.  ■«•* 


MtrtiatB  Vim 

J.  8.  CniblD(  Co.  —  Berwick  A  Smith  C«. 
Horwood,  U*U;  U.S.A. 


TO  THE   MEMORY 

or 

E^war^  X.  I)cln0bclmcr 

Tii»;   Lamkntkd   I*ri.hidrnt  or   tiu 
BoARu  or  GovKRNOBs  or 

Cbc  Ijcbrcw  Xinion  CoilCQC 

In  Whom  Zeal  for  tiik  High  Ideals 
or   Judaism    and   Patriotu    Devo- 
tion TO  Our  Blkssed  Country  Were 
Nobly  Em  no  died 

IN   FRIENDSHir  AND 
AFFECTION 


PRF.IACK 


IvofTtrinR  luTiwith  til  ihr  KnKlinh  rc:ulinK  t>ul»lu  thr  prrs- 
rnt  work  «»n  Jiwi>h  IhioloKy,  th»-  rt'^ull  of  many  yiars  of 
riMarih  an«l  uf  ytarn  of  activity  as  i'ri"«i<ktit  ami  tiathtr  at 
thcllrlirtw  rniori  Colhuf  of  Ciminnati,  I  lHs|Hak  for  it  that 
fairm^s  of  ju«lK'nuf»t  to  which  cviry  piont'tT  work  i-.  entitinl. 
It  may  strm  rather  strangr  that  m>  such  work  ha-  hitherto 
f>c'«n  writttn  hy  any  «»f  Iht  UadinK'  Jewish  scholars  of  tithi-r 
the  ionwrvativf  or  the  proKreHnivc  m  h«M»l.  This  can  only  Ik* 
aiiounti-il  for  hy  the  fac  t  that  up  to  m<Mlern  times  the  Rah- 
binital  ami  philonophic  il  literature  of  the  Middle  AKfssuftued 
for  the  needs  of  the  student,  and  a  systematic  cxjM)sition  of 
the  Jewish  faith  seemeil  to  he  unnecessary.  Besides,  a  r;al 
demand  for  the  sjh'i  ilu  study  of  Jewish  theology  was  scarcely 
felt,  inasmuch  as  Judaism  never  assigned  to  a  creed  the 
prominent  positioii  which  it  holds  in  the  Christian  Church. 
Thi.s  very  fact  induced  Moses  Mendelssohn  at  the-  beginning 
of  the  new  era  to  declare  that  Judaism  "contained  only 
truths  dictated  by  reason  and  no  dogmatic  beliefs  at  all." 
Moreover,  as  he  was  rather  a  dcUt  than  a  theist,  he  stated 
boldly  that  Judaism  "is  not  a  revealed  religion  but  a  revealed 
law  intended  solely  for  the  Jewish  people  as  the  vanguard  of 
universal  monotheism."  By  taking  this  legalistic  view  of 
Judaism  in  common  with  the  former  opponents  of  the  Mai- 
monidean  articles  of  faith  —  which,  by  the  way.  he  had  him- 
self translated  for  the  religious  instruction  of  the  Jewish  youth 
—  he  exerted  a  deteriorating  influence  upon  the  normal  devel- 
o|)ment  of  the  Jewish  faith  under  the  new  social  condilicms. 
The  fact  is  that  Mendelssohn  emancipated  the  modern  Jew 


viii 


PREFACE 


from  the  thraldom  of  the  Ghetto,  but  not  Judaism.     In  the 
Mendelssohnian  circle  the  impression  prevailed,  as  we  are 
told,  that  Judaism  consists  of  a  system  of  forms,  but  is  sub- 
stantially no  religion  at  all.     The  entire  Jewish  renaissance 
period  which  followed,  characteristically  enouRh,  made  the 
cultivation  of  the  so-called  science  of  Judaism  its  object,  but 
It  neglected  altogether  the  whole  field  of  Jewish  theology. 
Hence  we  look  in  vain  among  the  writings  of    Rappaport, 
Zunz,  Jost  and  their  followers,  the  entire  Breslau  school,  for 
any  attempt  at  presenting  the  contents  of  Judaism  as  a  sys- 
tem of  faith.    Only  the  pioneers  of  Reform  Judaism,  Geiger, 
Holdh'-im,  Samuel  Hirsch,  Formstecher,  Ludwig  Philippson,' 
Leopold  Stein,  Leopold  Loew,  and  the  Reform  theologian  par 
excellence  David  Einhorn,  and  likewise.  Isaac  M.  Wise  in 
America,  made  great  efforts  in  that  direction.    Still  a  system 
of  Jewish  theology  was  wanting.    Accordingly  when,  at  the 
suggestion  of  my  dear  departed  friend.  Dr.  Gustav  Karpeles, 
President  of  the  Society  for  tl.    Promotion  of  the  Science  of 
Judaism  in  Berlin,  I  undertook  to  write  a  compendium  (Grun- 
driss)  of  Systematic  Jewish  Theology,  which  appeared  in  1910 
as  Vol.  IV  in  a  series  of  worLs  on  Systematic  Jewish  Lore 
(Grundrissder  Gesammtwissenschaft  des  Judenthums),  I  had 
no  work  before  me  that  might  have  served  me  as  pattern  or 
guide.    Solomon  Schechter's  valuable  studies  were  in  the  main 
confined  to  Rabbinical  Theology.     As  a  matter  of  fact  I  ac- 
cepted the  task  only  with  the  understanding  that  it  should  be 
written  from  the  view-point  of  historical  research,  instead  of  a 
mere  dogmatic  or  doctrinal  system.     For  in  my  opinion  the 
Jewish  religion  has  never  been  static,  fixed  for  all  time  by  an 
ecclesiastical  authority,  but  has  ever  been  and  still  is  the  result 
of  a  dynamic  process  of  growth  and  development.     At  the 
same  time  I  felt  that  I  could  not  omit  the  mystical  element 
which  pervades  the  Jewish  religion  in  common  with  all  others. 
As  our  prophets  were  seers  and  not  philosophers  or  moralists, 


*..:'5aa)«?SSS" 


PREFACE 


vx 


so  diN-ine  inspiration  in  varying  degrees  constituted  a  factor  of 
Synagogal  as  well  as  Scriptural  Judaism,  Revelation,  there- 
fore, is  to  be  considered  as  a  continuous  force  in  shaping  and 
reshaping  the  Jewish  faith.  The  religious  genius  of  the  Jew 
falls  within  the  domain  of  ethnic  psychology  concerning  which 
science  still  gropes  in  the  dark,  but  which  progressive  Judaism 
is  bound  to  recognize  in  its  effects  throughout  the  ages. 

It  is  from  this  standpoint,  taken  also  by  the  sainted  founder 
of  the  Hebrew  Union  College,  Isaac  M.  Wise,  that  1  have  writ- 
ten this  book.  t  the  same  time  I  endeavored  to  be,  as  it 
behooves  the  historian,  just  and  fair  to  Conservative  Judai.sm, 
which  will  ever  claim  the  reverence  we  owe  to  our  cherished 
past,  the  mother  that  raised  and  nurtured  us. 

While  a  work  of  this  nature  cannot  lay  claim  to  complete- 
ness, I  have  attempted  to  cover  the  whole  field  of  Jewish  belief, 
including  also  such  subjects  as  no  longer  form  parts  of  the 
religious  consciousness  of  the  modern  Jew.  I  felt  especially 
called  upon  to  elucidate  the  historical  relations  of  Judaism 
to  the  Christian  and  Mohammedan  religions  and  dwell  on  the 
essential  points  of  divergence  from  them.  If  my  language  at 
times  has  been  rather  vigorous  in  defense  of  the  Jewish  faith, 
it  was  because  I  was  forced  to  correct  and  refute  the  prevail- 
ing view  of  the  Christian  world,  of  both  theologians  and  others, 
that  Judaism  is  an  inferior  religion,  clannish  and  exclusive, 
that  it  is,  in  fact,  a  cult  of  the  Old  Testament  Law. 

It  was  a  matter  of  great  personal  satisfaction  to  me  that  the 
German  work  on  its  appearance  met  with  warm  appreciation 
in  the  various  theological  journals  of  America.  England,  and 
France,  as  well  as  of  Germany,  including  both  Jewish  and 
Christian.  I  was  encouraged  and  urged  by  many  "soon  to  make 
the  book  accessible  to  wider  circles  in  an  English  translation." 
My  friend,  Dr.  Israel  Abrahams  of  Cambridge.  England,  took 
such  interest  in  the  book  that  he  induced  a  young  friend  of  his 
to  prepare  an  English  version.    While  this  did  not  auswcr  the 


■•iJl,,::^ 


X  PREFACE 

purpose,  It  was  helpful  to  me  in  m  iking  me  feel  that,  instead  of 
a  literal  translation,  a  thorough  revision  and  remolding  of  the 
book  was  necessary  in  order  to  present  it  in  an  acceptable  Eng- 
lish garb.     In  pursuing  this  course,  I  also  enlarged  the  book 
in  many  ways,  especially  adding  a  new  chapter  on  Jewish 
Ethics,  which,  in  connection  with  the  idea  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  appeared  to  me  to  form  a  fitting  culmination  of  Jewish 
theolog>'.     I  have  thus  rendered  it  practically  a  new  work. 
And  here  I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  great  indebtedness  to  my 
young  friend  and  able  pupil.  Rabbi  Lee  J.  Levinger,  for  the 
valuable  aid  he  has  rendered  me  and  the  painstaking  labor  he 
has  kindly  and  unselfishly  performed  in  going  over  my  manu- 
script from  beginning  to  end,  with  a  view  to  revising  the 
diction  and  also  suggesting  references  to  more  recent  publica- 
tions in  the  notes  so  as  to  bring  it  up  to  date. 

I  trust  that  the  work  will  prove  a  source  of  information 
and  inspiration  for  both  student  and  layman,  Jew  and  non- 
Jew,  and  induce  such  as  have  become  irdifferent  to,  or  preju- 
diced against,  the  teachings  of  the  Synagogue,  or  of  Reform 
Judaism  in  particular,  to  take  a  deeper  insight  into,  and  look 
up  with  a  higher  regard  to  the  sublime  and  eternal  verities 
of  Judaism. 

"Give  to  a  wise  man,  and  he  will  be  yet  wiser;  teach  a 
righteous  man,  and  he  will  increase  in  learning." 

Cincinnati,  November,  191 7. 


;.-v=./3B.aBC7K 


xt;Kj«x»KSMn>t7sv;:«>BnK.- 


CONTENTS 


Preface        

Introduction  : 

CBAFTEB 

I.  The  Meaning  or  Theology 


Vll 

I 

7 
15 


II.  What  is  Judaism  ? 

III.  The  Essence  of  the  Reuoion  of  Judaism 

IV.  The  Jewish  Articlki.  of  Faith 19 

PART   I:  GOD 

A.    GOD  AS  HE  MAKES  HIMSELF  KNOWN  TO  MAN 

V.  Man's  Consciousness  of  God  and  Belief  in  God     .  29 

VI.  Revelation,  Prophecy,  and  Inspir.\tion     ...  34 

VII.  The  Torah,  the  Divine  Instruction  ....  42 

VTII.  God's  Covenant 48 


B.     THE  IDEA   OF  GOD  IN  JUDAISM 


IX. 
X. 

XI. 

XII. 
XIII. 
XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 


God  and  the  Gods 
The  Names  of  God 
The  Existence  of  God  . 
The  Essence  of  God     • 
The  Ont:  and  Only  God 
God's  Omnipotence  and  Omniscience 
God's  Omnipresence  and  Eternity 
God's  Holiness       .... 
God's  Wrath  and  Punishment 
God's  Long-suffering  and  Mercy 
God's  Justice  .... 

God's  Love  and  Compassion 


5^ 
58 
64 
72 
82 

Qi 
96 

lOI 

107 
112 
118 
126 


u 


zii 


CONTENTS 


aum« 

XXI.  GOD'F  T«0TH  AMD  FaITHFULNKSS 

XXII.  God's   Knowledge  and  Wisdom 

XXIII.  God's  Co.vdescension 


XXIV 

XXV. 

I-CXVI. 

XXVII. 
XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 

XXXI. 

XXXII. 


XXXIII. 
XXXIV. 
XXXV. 
XXXVI. 
XXXVII. 
XXXVIII. 
XXXIX. 
XL. 
XLI. 
XLII. 
XLIII. 
XLIV. 
XLV. 
XL  VI. 
XLVII. 


C.    GOD  IN  RELATION   TO   THE   WORLD 
The  World  \nd  Its  Master  . 
Creation  as    he  Act  of  God 

The    Maintenance    and    Government    of    the 

World 
Miracles  and  the  Cosmic  Order  ... 
Providence  and  the  Moral  Government  of  the 

World 
God  and  the  Existence  of  Evil 
God  \nd  the  Angels 
Satan  and  the  Spirits  of  Evil 
God  and  the  Intermedury  Powers 

PART   II:   MAN 

Man's  Place  in  Creation 

The  Dual  Nature  of  Man 

The  Origin  and  Destiny  of  Man  . 

God's  Spirit  in  Man 

Free  Will  and  Moral  Responsibiuty  . 

The  Meaning  of  Sin 

Repentance,  or  the  Return  to  God 

Man,  the  Child  of  God  ... 

Prayer  and  Sacrifice      ... 

The  Nature  and  Purpose  of  Prayer 

Death  and  tv  -  Future  Life  ... 

The  Immortal  ^  iul  of  Man 

Divine  RETRiBrTioN:  Reward  and  PunIshment 

The  individual  and  the  Race 

The  Moral  Elements  of  Civiuzation  . 


VAOI 

IJ4 
I4J 


146 

152 

156 

160 

167 
176 

180 
189 
197 


206 

212 
218 
226 

246 

261 
271 
278 
286 
298 


!^ 


few        ', -t^^y 'r-;. 


StS^E^UP 


l 

? 


CONTENTS 


PART  ni:  ISRAEL  AND  THE  KINGDOM 
OF  GOD 

CBAPTCl 

XLVIII.  Tire  Election  or  Israel 

XLIX.  The  Kingdom  or  God  and  the  Mission  of  Israel 
L.  The  Priest-people  and  its  Law  of  Holiness  . 
LI.  Israel,  the  People  of  the  Law,  and  its  World 

Mission 

LII.  Israel,  the  Servant  of  the  Lord,   Martyr  and 

Messuh  of  the  Nations     . 
LIII.  The  Messunic  Hope  , 
LIV.  Resurrection,  a  N\tional  Hope 
LV    Israel  and  the  Heathen  Nations 
LVI.  Tr'c  Stranger  and  the  Prc  ^elyte 
LVII.  Christianity  and  Mohammedanism  the  Daughter- 
religions  OF  Judaism 

LVIII.  The  Synagogue  and  its  Institutions 
LIX.  The  Ethics  of  Judaism  and  the  Kingdom  of  God 

List  of  ABBREViAnoNS 

Index    


Htaa 
323 

ii^ 
J42 

354 

367 
378 
392 
397 
408 

426 
447 

477 

493 
497 


^".  ^'''jiSX'^'^' 


ia«y?g£f^t*^TiHwaagsgg5:--y "■•^.•.egi'ggy-yj^wggLgti-Jv-  -<:4«*ssaBB! 


JEWISH    THEOLOGY 


CHAPTER   I 

The  Meaning  of  Theology 

I.  The  name  Theology,  "the  teaching  concerning  God," 
is  taken  from  Greek  philosophy.  It  was  used  by  Plato  and 
Aristotle  to  denote  the  knowledge  concerning  God  and  things 
godly,  by  which  they  meant  the  branch  of  Philosophy  later 
called  Metaphysics,  after  Aristotle.  In  the  Christian  Church 
the  term  gradually  assumed  the  meaning  of  systematic  ex- 
position of  the  creed,  a  distinction  being  made  between 
Rational,  or  Natural  Theology,  on  the  one  hand,  and  Dogmatic 
Theology,  on  the  other."  In  common  usage  Theolo.'^y  is 
understood  to  be  the  presentation  of  one  specific  system  of 
faith  after  some  logical  method,  and  a  distinction  is  made 
between  Historical  and  Systematic  Theology.  The  former 
traces  the  various  doctrines  of  the  faith  in  question  through 
the  different  epochs  and  stages  of  culture,  showing  their  his- 
torical process  of  growth  and  development ;  the  latter  pre- 
sents these  same  doctrines  in  comprehensive  form  as  a  fixed 
system,  as  they  have  finally  been  elaborated  and  accepted 
upon  the  basis  of  the  sacred  scriptures  and  their  authoritative 
interpretation. 

2.  Theology  and  Philosophy  of  Religion  differ  widely  in 
their  character.  Theology  deals  exclusively  with  a  specific 
religion ;   in  expounding  one  doctrinal  system,  it  starts  from 

»  Compare  Heinrici:  Theologische  Encyclopaedic,  p.  4;  Enc.  Brit.  art.  The- 
olo-„->-. 


kiftSSSMOU.'?' 


.»»'.uiii?«.7! 


'.r-^;'"-Mr^'^^''-^<^vFinm^SK,  -y;4:«^vir-  jy;  rw  ^r.^frjy. 


«  JEWISH  THEOL(XiY 

a  imsitivc  belief  in  a  divine  revelation  and  in  the  continued 
working  of  the  divine  spirit,  alTcctinf:  uIm)  the  interpretation 
and  further  development  «)f  the  sacred  books  Philosophy 
of  Religion,  on  the  i)ther  hand,  while  dealing  with  the  same 
subject  matter  as  Theology,  treats  religion  from  a  general 
IH)int  of  view  as  a  matter  «)f  exix'rience,  and,  as  every  philos- 
ophy must,  without  any  foregone  conclusion.  Consequently 
if  submits  the  beliefs  and  doctrines  of  religion  in  general  to 
an  impartial  investigation,  recognizing  neither  a  divine  rcve- 
lation  nor  the  superior  claims  of  any  one  religion  above  any 
other,  its  main  object  being  to  ascertain  how  far  the  universal 
laws  of  human  reason  agree  or  disagree  with  the  assertions 
of  faith.* 

.^.  It  is  therefore  incorrect  to  speak  of  a  Jewish  religious 
philosophy.  This  has  no  better  right  to  exist  than  has  Jewish 
metaphysics  or  Jewish  mathematics*  The  Jewish  thinkers 
of  the  Spanish-Arabic  pcriwl  who  endeavored  to  harmonize 
revelation  and  reason,  utilizing  the  Neo-Platonic  philosophy 
or  the  Aristotelian  with  a  Neo-Platonic  coloring,  betray  by 
their  very  concepf'ons  of  revelation  and  prophecy  the  in- 
fluence of  Mohammedan  theology;  this  was  really  a  graft 
of  metaphysic,  on  theology  am'  called  itself  the  'divine 
science,"  a  term  corresponding  e.xactly  with  the  Greek  "theol- 
ogy." The  so-called  Jewish  religious  philosophers  adopted 
both  ihe  methods  and  terminology  of  the  Mohammedan 
theologians,  attempting  to  present  the  doctrines  of  the  Jewish 
faith  in  the  light  of  philosophy,  as  truth  based  on  reason. 
Thus  they  claimed  to  construct  a  Jewish  theology  upon  the 
foundation  of  a  philosophy  of  religion. 

'  Heinrici,  1.  c,  p.  .4  f.,  212;  Hagenbach-Kautsch  :  F.ncyc.  d.  thtolog.  Wiss., 
p.  28-30;  KauwenhofT:  Religions philusophie,  Kinl.,  xiii ;  Margolis:  "The 
Theological  Aspect  of  Reformed  Judaism,'"  in  Yearbook  of  C.  C.  A.  R.,  1903, 
p.  i88-ig2.    Lauterljath,  J.  E.,  art.  Theology. 

«See,  however,  Geiger;   Nachgel.  Schrijlen,  II,  3-8;   also  Margolis,  I.e., 

p.    Iv;-iy6. 


^^^P^M^*^mmEs 


THE  NfEANING  OF  THEOLOGY 


But  neither  they  nor  their  Mohammedan  predecessors 
succce<led  in  working  out  a  complete  system  of  theology. 
They  left  untouched  essential  elements  of  religion  which  do 
not  come  within  the  sphere  of  rational  verities,  and  did  not 
give  projK-r  appreciation  to  the  rich  treasures  of  faith  depos- 
ited in  the  Biblical  and  Rabbinical  literature.  Nor  does  the 
comprehensive  theologiial  system  of  Maimonides.  which 
for  centuries  largely  shaped  the  intellectual  life  of  the  Jew, 
form  an  exception.  Only  the  mystics,  Bahya  at  their  head, 
paid  attenti<m  to  the  spiritual  side  of  Judaism,  dwelling  at 
length  on  such  themes  as  prayer  and  repentance,  divine 
forgiveness  and  holiness. 

4.  (Moser  acquaintance  with  the  religious  and  philosophical 
systems  of  mcnlern  times  has  created  a  new  demand  for  a 
Jewish  theology  by  which  the  Jew  can  comprehend  his  own 
religious  truths  in  the  light  of  modern  thought,  and  at  the 
same  time  defend  them  against  the  aggressive  attitude  of  the 
ruling  religious  sects.  Thus  far,  however,  the  attempts  made 
in  this  direction  arc  but  feeble  and  sporadic ;  if  the  structure 
is  not  to  stand  altogether  in  the  air,  the  necessary  material 
must  be  brought  together  from  its  many  sources  with  pains- 
taking labor.'  The  special  diOiculty  in  the  task  lies  in  the 
radical  difference  which  e-xists  between  our  view  of  the  past 
and  that  of  the  Biblical  and  medieval  writers.  All  those 
things  which  have  heretofore  been  taken  as  facts  because  related 
in  the  sacred  books  or  other  traditional  sources,  are  viewed 
to-day  with  critical  eyes,  and  are  now  regarded  as  more  or 
less  colored  by  human  impres.sion  or  conditioned  by  human 
judgment.  In  other  words,  wc  have  learned  to  distinguish 
between  subjective  and  objective  truths,'*  whereas  theology  by 

'  .\  fine  bcK'inninR  in  this  direction  has  been  made  by  Professor  Schechter 
in  Some  Aspects  of  Rabbinic  Theology,  New  York,  kjoq. 

•  See  Joel :  "D.  Mosaismus  u.  d.  Heidenlhum,"  in  Jahrb.  f.  Jued.  Gesch. 
und  Lit.,  1904,  p.  70-73. 


4  JEWISH  THEOLOt;Y 

Its  very  nature  deals  with  truth  a^  absolute.  This  mal 
h  im|H'rative  for  uh  to  invest inate  histt.rically  the  leadi 
idea  or  fundamental  prinnple  underlyin«  a  doctrine,  to  m 
the  difTerent  loneeptions  formed  at  vari.)u.s  stages,  and  tra 
Its  process  .)f  growth.  At  times,  indeed,  wc  may  fmd  th 
the  views  of  one  a«e  have  rather  taken  a  backward  step  ai 
fallen  l)el.)w  the  orlK'Inal  stan.lard.  The  progress  need  not 
uniform,  but  we  must  still  trace  its  course. 

5-  We  must  recogni/e  at  the  outset  that  Jewish  thcojo] 
cannot  assume  the  character  of  apologetics,  if  it  is  to  accor 
plish  Its  great  task  of  formulating  religious  truth  as  it  exis 
In  our  onst  iousness  to-day.  It  can  no  m.)re  afford  to  igno 
the  established  results  of  m<Mlern  linguistic,  ethnologic; 
and  historical  re.search.  of  Biblical  criticism  and  comparatn 
religion,  than  it  can  the  undisputed  facts  of  natural  s(  ienc 
however  much  any  of  these  may  conflict  with  the  Biblic 
view  of  the  cosmos.  Ai>oIogetics  has  its  legitimate  pla< 
to  prove  and  defend  the  truths  of  Jewish  theology  again 
other  systems  of  belief  and  thought,  but  cannot  pro{)erl 
defend  either  Biblical  or  Talmu.lic  statements  by  methoc 
incompatible  with  scientific  investigation.  Judaism  Is 
religion  of  historical  growth,  which,  far  from  claiming  to  b 
the  tmal  truth,  is  ever  regenerated  anew  at  each  turning  polr 
of  history.  The  fall  of  the  leaves  at  autumn  requires  n 
apology,  for  each  successive  spring  testiJies  anew  to  nature' 
I)()wer  of  resurrection. 

The  object  of  a  systematic  theology  of  Judaism,  accord 
ingly.  is  to  single  out  the  essential  forces  of  the  faith.  I 
then  will  become  evident  how  these  fundamental  doctrine 
pos.sess  a  vitality,  a  strength  of  conviction,  as  well  as  ai 
adaptability  to  varying  conditions,  which  make  them  poten 
factors  amidst  all  changes  of  time  and  circumstance.  Ac 
cording  to  Rabbinical  tradition,  the  broken  tablets  of  th. 
covenant  were  depositef!  in  the  ark  beside  the  new.     In  Uk. 


*»^      c 


THK  MKANINC  OF  TIIEOLOGV  j 

manner  the  truths  held  vicrcd  by  the  past,  but  f«)un«l  Inade 
quatc  in  tht-ir  expression  for  a  new  K«-nirati..n.  must  be  plaml 
side  by  side  with  the  <lee|MT  ami  more  .  larified  truths  of  an 
advana-d  a^e,   that   they   may  apju-ar   loKclher  as   the  otm 
divine  truth  retledrd  in  «lilTrrent  rays  of  light. 

(}.   Jewish  theology  diiTi-rs  radically  from  (■hri^tian  throj- 
ogy  in  the  fcillowinK  thne  |M)int.s: 

.1.  The  theoloKy  of  Christianity  deals  with  arti.les  of 
faith  formulated  by  the  founders  an<l  heads  of  thi-  Chun  h 
as  conditi-ns  of  stilvation.  so  that  any  alteration  in  fav..r  of 
free  thought  threatens  to  undcrmim-  the  very  [)lan  of  salva- 
tion upon  which  the  Church  was  founded.  Judaism  recog- 
ni/es  only  such  articles  of  faith  as  were  ad..-  ced  by  the  people 
voluntarily  as  expressiims  of  their  religious  consciousness, 
both  without  external  c<mi[)ulsion  and  without  doing  violence 
•  to  the  dictates  of  reason.  Judaism  d«Hs  not  know  salvation 
by  faith  in  the  sense  of  Paul  'he  real  founder  of  the  Chun  h, 
who  declared  the  blind  ai  ance  .)f  belief  to  be  in  itself 
meritc.ricu!-..  It  denies  the  xistence  of  any  irrectmcf  '  '  ■ 
»)|)|H)sition  between  faith  and  reason. 

B.  Christian  theoK.gy  rests  upon  a  formula  of  confession, 
the  so-called  S>'mbolum  oi  the  .Xpostolic  .'hurch,'  whi.  h 
alone  makes  one  a  Christian.  Judaism  has  no  such  f.)rmula 
of  confession  which  renders  a  Jew  a  Jew.  Xo  ecclesiastical 
authority  ever  dictated  or  regulated  the  belief  of  the  Jew; 
his  faith  has  been  voiced  in  the  solemn  liturgical  form  of 
prayer,  and  has  ever  retained  its  freshnos  and  vigor  of  thought 
in  the  consciousness  .)f  the  people.  This  partly  accounts  for 
the  antipathy  toward  any  kind  of  dogma  or  creed  among 
Jews. 

C.  The  creed  is  a  conditio  sine  qua  non  of  the  Christian 
Church.  To  disbelieve  its  dogmas  is  to  cut  oneself  loose 
from  membership.     Judaism  is  qiiit.-  different.      Yh:-  j.w  j^ 

'  Sec  Schaff-IIcr^og'3  Encycl.,  art.  .\poitles'  freed  .md  Symlwl. 


JKWISH  TIIKOIXKJV 


hi 


bem  Into  it  and  rantmt  rxtruntp  himjiclf  from  it  even  by 
the  rcnumiation  of  hiit  fiiiih,  whKh  woultl  l»ut  nudrr  him  an 
a|H»Htatc  Jew.  Thisiomlition  exists.  iMrausr  ihr  racial  mm- 
mufiity  f«)rmiH|.  ami  ntill  formn.  thf  hasis  of  ihr  nliKiouH  com- 
muiiily.  Ii  is  birth,  not  ».mfrs^ii,n.  that  imiM)s.si>n  the  Jew 
the  obligation  to  work  ami  strive  for  the  eternal  verities  «)f 
hrael.  for  the  preservation  an<l  jiropaRaliim  of  whiih  he  has 
been  ehoscn  by  the  Chh\  of  history. 

7.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  the  aim  ami  end  of 
Jiulaism  is  not  so  mu(  h  the  salvation  «»f  the  soul  in  the  here- 
after as  the  salvation  i)f  humanity  in  hist«»ry.  Its  theoloRy. 
therefore,  must  rccoKnize  the  history  of  human  progress,  with 
wh'th  it  i:,  so  (loscly  i  iterwoven.  It  docs  not,  therefore, 
claim  to  offer  the  final  or  abs<»lute  truth,  as  docs  Christian 
theolopy.  whether  ortho«lox  or  liberal.  It  simply  points  out 
the  way  leading  to  the  highest  obtainable  truth.  Final  and 
IKrfett  truth  is  held  f..rth  as  the  ideal  of  all  human  searching 
and  striving.  t«>gether  with  |Hrfe(  t  justice,  righteousness, 
and  |)cace.  to  be  attained  as  the  very  end  of  history. 

A  systematic  theology  of  Judaism  must,  accordingly,  con- 
lent  itself  with  presenting  Jewish  doctrine  ami  Iwlief  in  re- 
lation to  the  most  ajlvanced  scientitic  and  philosophical  ideas 
of  the  age,  so  as  to  offer  a  comprehensive  view  of  life  and  the 
world  ("Lebens-  und  Weltanschauung") ;  but  it  by  no  means 
claims  for  them  the  character  of  finality.  The  unfolding  of 
Judaism's  truths  will  be  completed  only  when  all  mankind 
has  attained  the  heights  of  Zion's  mount  of  vision,  as  beheld 
by  the  prophets  of  Israel.' 

'  See  Scheihtcr :  StudU^  in  Jtuinism,  Intr..  XXI-XXII ;  p.  147,  108  f. ;  Fos- 
ter ;  Thf  Finality  of  the  ChriUian  Kfliginn,  C:hicaRo.  iqoC  ;  Fric.lr.  Dclitzsrh  : 
ZurA'riie-fntiiickluHi  '-r  R,-!ifi„n.  1.^;  and  tomp.  Ori-lli :  K>-liiii>nti:esrkichle, 
i7<)  {.,  and  Dorner:   fl.//,.  :.  Wrilerrnluirklung  d.  christt.  Frlii^ion,  i7». 


CHAPTKR    II 

What  ih  Jidaism? 

I,  It  h  vcrv  (li»Vi<  ult  to  KJvi'  an  c-xart  <k-finili<>n  of  Judalnm 
Jnuausc  of  it>  jMiuliarly  complfx  iharatttr'  It  n.mliitUH 
two  wi«l«'ly  «liJTtrinK  lUtmntH,  ami  whi-n  thi-y  an-  l)rou;^ht 
i)Ut  separately,  tlu-  a>|H«  t  t»f  thr  whoU-  i^  no\  taken  sufVuiertly 
into  aiiounl.  Religion  and  raic  form  an  inseparalile  w  joIc 
in  Juilaism.  The  Jewish  |H'ople  ntand  in  the  same  relation  to 
Ju«laiHm  as  the  body  to  the  vml.  The  national  or  racial  Ixwly 
of  'i';lai««m  (<)n>i>ts  of  the  remnant  of  tlie  tril)e  of  Jmlah 
wh  1  Hucteedecl  in  establishinK  a  new  eommonwealth  in 
Jutlsca  in  pl;><e  of  the  amient  Israelitish  kinK<lom.  ami  whirh 
survived  the  downfall  of  ntatc  and  temple  to  continue  its 
existence  as  a  separate  jK'ople  during  a  dispersion  over  the 
g|ol)e  for  thousands  of  years,  forming  ever  a  cosmopolitan  ele- 
ment among  all  the  nations  in  whoso  lands  it  dwelt.  Juda- 
ism, on  the  other  hand,  is  the  religio-is  system  itself,  the  vital 
element  which  united  the  Jewish  |H«)ple,  i)reserving  it  and 
regenerating  it  ever  anew.  It  is  the  spirit  which  endowed 
the  handful  of  Jews  with  a  power  of  resistance  and  a  fervor 
of  faith  unparalleled  in  history,  enabling  them  to  persevere 

'  r.ir  the  oriK'm  of  the  nam-  Jinl.iism,  m  f  l",>thrr  VIII,  17-  Compjirc 
Yahduth.  KsIIkt  K.it.luh  III,  T.  H  M^'"  "•  -'  .  VtU,  1.  14  jH ;  (-rart/  C. 
./  y  ,  II.  i74f.;  J.."*!  :  G.  (/.  7m</ ,  I.  1  1 .-,.//:.  ari.  Ju.iiiism.  Kt-KanlitiK  the 
uufairiu-sscif  Chri^lian  authors  in  thiir  olimatc  of  Jii<laism,  sor  Srhechter,  I  v ., 
i  <;- jji  .  M.  -Si  lir.iiu  r  :  l).ju,ni.a.  Vrtlui',  ti.d.  J  uJmlhum.  [..  4S  =;!<  r>ubm)vv, 
AshiT  (JinzhtTK  ami  the  rir,t  of  tiic  nalit)naliM-*  un.kTratc  the  rtlii  )Us  {wwer 
of  the-  Jew'-,  soul,  which  forms  the  i-^scnci'  of  his  i  haraitrr  and  ic  motive 
power  of  all  his  aspi  'ions  and  hoixs,  a>  well  as  of  all  his  ai-hicvcmcnts  in 
hibtury. 


8 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


:'.n«i„u.ly  .,r  u„c„„sci„u  ,  •      1™    (f '''.■■  ^'i;   '""""«• 
inun«lu»l  n,„vem..„ts  >vl,    pi  ,  '"  ''"  "'^'  K^''"' 

geu.ne  w,.l,l   ^r        ,  „   :    ""■ ,"  "r  "■'>■  "■  "■•■"  "-  "nlirc 
God  a,„l  man.  '        '  ""''  '""""  '™'l'-^  concerning 

2-   Ju(l;iism,    aaordiiifriv     .i,,,..    „  ,     , 
nati.^nalitv.    with    i,s     uUr  .         ''''""'"    ^^^'    J^'^^'^h 

-1  aspiration     as  1^?'     "'     ";'""'    -'^•— "ts 

not  a  nomistic  or  Icir-.l  stit  r      •  "'^"'  ^^"^^'-  ^'  '^ 

cosmopolitan  a„,i  humanitarian    h  rlc  T'^T  "^'  '^^ 

surrcncicrcci   its   universal        Z    ,.''^'^"^'  ^'^""  ^hat  it  has 
X-         .  ""ivirsai   l)rophctic    triifh>;   »,v   nu  •    • 

Nor  shouhl  it   Ik.  present,,!    .  •  (Christianity. 

aiming  to  unite   Ul    ,     ev       •       '  '"'''"'""  "^  P"^^'   ^^'^'•^■'«- 

y--^'fwhie;;t!^;::s:::;:;::;l^-;'•^^-rh^ni: 

;nK  less  thm  -.  m,.-  <Jr<.am.     Juthusm   s  noth- 

tofa  terinth,>f.<Lw,f       i    .  .•  ^     "'  "'<^  ''ges.  who  is  never 

i.  Owing  ,o This  V ;:rr„;:'  '^■  ""•"■ '™""  "«■ 

irmh  and  at  th.  sam,.  ,*  "'  "  """'"'''>  "--"fious 

"'  religion  and  his,  ,rv    an  ^^^  a    'r'"'"™" '° ''■"'"'''^"' 

:r::::idSrjr^'~'-"tto:^ 


i--,-^i 


WHAT  IS   [UDAISM?  ^ 

and  thereby  also  to  keep  its  religious  truths  pure  and  free 
from  encroachments.  On  the  other  hand,  it  manifests  a 
mighty  impulse  to  come  into  close  touch  with  the  various 
civilized  nations,  partly  in  order  to  disseminate  among  them 
its  sublime  truths,  api)ealing  alike  to  mind  and  heart,  partly 
to  clarify  and  deepen  those  truths  by  assimilating  the  wisdom 
and  culture  of  these  very  nations.  Thus  the  spirit  of  sep- 
aratism and  of  universalism  work  in  opposite  directions. 
Still,  however  hostile  the  two  elements  may  appear,  they 
emanate  from  the  same  source.  For  tlic  Jewish  people, 
unlike  any  other  civilization  of  antiquity,  entercfl  history 
with  the  proud  claim  that  it  possessed  a  truth  destined  to 
become  some  day  the  property  of  mankind,  and  its  three 
Ihou.sand  years  of  history  have  vcrllied  this  claim. 

Israel's  relation  to  the  world  thus  became  a  double  one. 
Its  priestly  world-mission  gave  rise  to  all   those  laws  and 
customs  which  were  to  separate  it  from  its  idolatrous  surround- 
ings, and  this  o(  casioned  the  charge  of  hostility  to  the  nations. 
The  accusation  of  Jewish  misanthropy  occurred  as  early  as 
the  Balaam  and  Haman  stories.     As  the  separation  continued 
through  the  centuries,  a  deep-seated  Jew-hatred  sprang  up, 
first  in  Alexandria  and  Rome,  then  beoming  a  consuming 
tire  throughout  Christendom,  unquenched  thn.ugh  the  ages 
and  bursting  forth  anew,  even  from  the  midst  of  wouk'-be 
liberals.     In  contrast   to  this,   Israel's  pro{)hetic  ideal  of  a 
humanity  united  in  justice  and  peace  gave  to  history  a  new 
meaning  and  a  larger  outlook,  kindling  in  the  souls  of  all 
truly  great  leaders  and  teachers,  seers  and  sages  of  mankind 
a  love  and  longing  for  the  broadening  of  humanity  which 
opened  new  avenues  of  progress  and  liberty.     Moreover,  by 
its  conception  of  man  as  the  image  of  God  and  its  teaching 
of  righteousness  as  the  true  path  of  life.  Israel's  Law  estab- 
lished a  new  standard  of  human  worth  and  put  the  imi)rint 
of  Jewish  idealism  upon  the  entire  Aryan  civilization. 


xo 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


Owing  to  these  two  opposing  forces,  the  one  centripetal 
the  other  centnfugal,  Judaism  tended  now  inward,  away  from' 
world-culture    now  outward   toward   the   learning  and   th 
hought  of  all  nations;    and  this  nukes  it  doub^  difficult 
o  obtain  a  true  estimate  of  its  character.     But.  after  all 
these  very  currents  and   counter-currents  at  the  different 
eras  of  history  kept  Judaism  in  continuous  tension  and  fluc- 
tuation    preventing    its   stagnation    by   dogmatic    formulas 
and  Its  division  by  ecclesiastical  dissensions.     "Both  words 
are  the  words  of  the  living  God"  became  the  maxim  of  the 
contending  schools.' 

4^  If  we  now  ask  what  period  we  may  fix  as  the  beginning 
of  Judaism    we  must  by  no  means  single  out  tb<.  decisive 

wealth  of  Judaea,  based  upon  the  Mosaic  book  of  Law  aid 
excluding  the  Samaritans  who  claimed  to  be  the  heirs  of 
ancient  Israel.     This  important  step  was  but   the  clima.x. 

?  the"  bT  f  '  "  •?""  '^^''^  ^"^^'"^^^^^^  by  ^he  Judaism 
of  the  Babylonian  exile.  The  Captivity  had  become  a  re- 
fining furnace  for  the  people,  making  them  cling  with  a  zeal 
unknown  before  to  the  teachings  of  the  prophets,  now  offered 

LiM       ^'':;P'^':.^"^  ^«  '^'  '^^^«-  ^^  preserved  by  the  priestly 
guild.^ ,   so  the  religious  treasures  of  the  few  became  the  com- 
mon property  of  the  many,  and  were  .soon  regarded  as  "the 
am-eritance  of  the  whole  congregation  of  Jacob."    As  a  matter 
of   fact,   Ezra   represents   the   culmination   rather   than   the 
starting  point  of  the  great  spiritual  reawakening,  when  he 
came    rom  Bab>Ion  with  a  complete  Code  of  Law.  and  pro- 
mulgated it  in  the  Holy  City  to  a  worsnipful  congregation^ 
I    was  Judaism,  winged  with  a  new  spirit,  which  carried  the 
great  unknown  seer  of  the  Exile  to  .he  very  pinnacle  of  pro- 
ham  of"  D?';1  ":''  '''  '''^''''  ""^  ^-^h  from 'the 
harp  of  David  the  deepest  soul-stirring  notes  of  religious 

'Erub.isb.  'Neh.VIII,i-:8;   Ez.  VII,  x2-.8. 


'-'4U. 


WHAT  IS  JUDAISM? 


II 


devotion  and  aspiration  that  ever  moved  the  hearts  of  men. 
Moreover,  all  the  great  truths  of  prophetic  revelation,  of  legis- 
lative and  popular  wisdom,  were  then  collected  and  focused, 
creating  a  sacred  literature  which  was  to  serve  the  whole  com- 
munity as  the  source  of  instruction,  consolation,  and  edifica- 
tion. The  powerful  and  unitjue  institutions  of  the  Synagogue, 
intended  for  common  instruction  and  devotion,  are  altogether 
creationsof  the  Exile,  and  replaced  the  former  priestly 'Voriih  by 
the  Torah/or  the  people.  More  wonderful  still,  the  priestly  lore 
of  ancient  Babylon  was  transformed  l)y  sublime  monotheistic 
truths  and  utilized  in  the  formation  of  a  sacred  literature ;  it 
waf  placed  before  the  history  of  the  Hebrew  patriarchs,  to 
form,  as  it  were,  an  introduction  to  the  Bible  of  humanity. 

Judaism,  then,  far  from  being  the  late  product  of  the  Torah 
and  tradition,  as  it  is  often  considered,  was  actually  the 
creator  of  the  Law.  Transformed  and  unfolded  in  Babylonia, 
it  created  its  own  sacred  literature  and  shaped  it  ever  anew, 
filling  it  always  with  its  o  spirit  and  with  new  thoughts. 
It  is  by  no  means  the  petrifaction  of  the  Mosaic  law  and  the 
prophetic  teachings,  as  we  are  so  often  told,  but  a  continuous 
process  of  unfolding  and  regeneration  of  its  great  religious  truth. 

5.  True  enough,  traditional  or  orthodox  Judaism  does  not 
share  this  view.  The  idea  of  gradual  development  is  pre- 
cluded by  its  conception  of  divine  revelation,  by  its  doctrine 
that  both  the  oral  und  tlic  written  Torah  were  given  at  Sinai 
complete  and  u..c:  angeable  for  all  time.  It  makes  allowance 
only  for  special  institutions  btgun  either  by  the  prophets, 
by  Ezra  and  the  Men  of  the  Great  Synagogue,  his  associutes, 
or  by  the  masters  of  the  Law  in  succeeding  centuries.  Never- 
theless, tradition  says  that  the  Men  of  the  Great  Synagogue 
themselves  collected  and  partly  completed  the  sacred  books, 
except  the  five  books  of  Moses,  and  that  the  c.mon  was  made 
under  the  influence  of  the  holy  spirit.  This  holy  spirit  re- 
mained in  force  also  during  the  creative  period  of  Talmudism, 


■^ 


IP-^'. 


1 1         ' 


13 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


^  ^     1  "'"tai  ami  Kabbinica    sources    anH  tli,.r,.f  ^-^ 

compels  us  to  reiV-rf  fho  ,M,.o    e         •<■  int-rcfore 

p       u         reject  the  Idea  of  a  uniform  ori'^in  of  Hi..  T  .... 

importance    „;:„,«::  ;'T.  '",  """'.^"■•""  '""  "■"- 

under  the  Lluen  e  of  ,h'  •    ™".""  "'  ""•  "■""■•  ««' 

and  Persia    hen  ,?( ^  """™'  ""''^'ions.  Babylonia 

In  (act,  tlto  various     irlie    1    k  '  ^'""'  ""''  '*°""=- 

Tetnple  beside  each  o^^  ^s  :  es^r'-'^  '''^  ^=""0 
Pharisees,  Essenes  and  Zealots  -  e;::e^roncl'V"' 
vation,  the  different  sincr..- ;    ♦u       '^'■'"^'^■^'^"^-  »"  <-lo,ser  obser- 

Judaism  hail  t  ;r  I  XT  ^'  ^T"^^^'^"  ^^'^^'^^ 
Apocryphal  and  Apocaltic  "  .  '"""u'-  '^'  "^'^'^^''^tic. 
and  lost  to  siVht  brtrX       .  T   ."'''  "'^^''^  ^^'^  ''^J^-^ted 

fills  the  ,ap  iSiei^r  r  i::^rv;r'  r^'  ^^^^^'^ 

casts  c  flood  of  hVht  unon  the  d       i  '''''  ^"'■'''"«^- 

■  See  M  B,    h     r  /  ^1^'velopment  of  the  Halakah 

see  J.  h.;  Sanh.  gy  a;  Mcr  tm-  M.im  •  if  ,  \\  ^  ^  aspiration 
Zar„  I,  4o;  Horn  v.  III.  ,«  c  f  et'i,  R  VT  tJ  "'  ■*^'  ^  '""^P"  ^'^-^"^h,  Ab. 
laying  on  of  hands  for  ordination  ^v      ■;    ,'  '•'  '''  ^""^  Voma  o  b.     The 

of  the  holy  spirit.  Jr^^T^-;"''  ""^"^^  °"^'-">'  ^^c  imparting 
=  See  Geiger,  J.  Z.,  I,  p.  7.  ^" 


I.^JBflCfiliL^^-L  2 


WHAT  IS  JUIVMSM? 


13 


and  the  HagRudah.  Just  as  the  book  of  Kzckiel,  which  was 
almost  excluded  from  the  (,'aiion  on  account  of  its  divergence 
from  the  Mosaic  Law,  has  been  helpful  in  tracing  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Priestly  Code,'  -o  the  Sadducecan  book  of  Ben 
Sira  •  and  the  Zealotic  book  of  Jubilees '  -  not  to  nuntion 
the  various  Apocalyptic  works  -  throw  their  searchlight 
upon  i)re-'ralmudic  Judaism. 

6.  Instead  of  representing  Judaism — as  the  Christian 
theologians  do  under  the  guise  of  scientific  methods  —  as  a 
nomistic  religion,  caring  only  for  the  external  observance  of 
the  Law,  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish  two  opposite  funda 
mental  tendt  nc  ies  ;  the  one  expressing  the  spirit  of  legalistic 
nationalism,  the  other  that  of  ethical  or  prt)phetic  universalism. 
These  two  work  by  turn,  directing  the  general  trend  in  the 
one  or  the  other  direction  according  to  circumstances.  At 
one  time  the  center  and  focus  of  Israel's  religion  is  the  Mosaic 
Law,  with  its  sacrificial  cult  in  charge  of  the  priesthood  of 
Jerusalem's  Temple;  at  anoMier  time  it  is  thr  Synagogue, 
with  its  congregational  devotion  and  public  instruction,  its 
inspiring  song  of  the  Psalmist  and  its  |)rophetic  consolation 
and  hope  confined  to  no  narrow  territory,  but  opened  wide 
for  a  listening  world.  Here  it  is  the  reign  of  the  Ilalakah 
holJing  fast  to  the  form  of  tradition,  and  there  the  free  and 
fanciful  Ha^s,adah,  with  its  appeal  to  the  sentiments  and 
views  of  the  j)eople.  Here  it  is  the  .>pirit  of  ritualism,  bent 
on  separating  the  Jews  from  the  influence  of  foreign  elements, 
and  there  again  the  spirit  of  rationalism,  eager  to  take  part 
in  general  culture  and  in  the  progress  of  the  outside  world. 

The  liberal  views  of  Maimonides  and  Gersonides  concern- 

'  .Aboth  d.  R.  Nathan,  T  ;   Shab.  30  b  with  reference  to  Ezek.  XLIII-XLW. 

»  See  (ieiRcr  :  Z.  I).  M.  (;.,  XII,  536  ;  Schechter,  Wisdom  of  Bni  Sira,  p.  35. 

'See  J.  F..,  art.  Jubilees,  Book  of.  Very  instructive  in  this  connection  is 
a  compar.uive  study  of  the  Falashas,  the  Samaritans,  especially  the  Dosithean 
sect,  and  the  iiill  problematical  sect  discoxered  throuijh  the  document  found 
by  Schechter,  edited  by  him  under  the  title  Fra^menti  uj  a  Zndokite  Stct. 


I 

1  ?<    I 


M 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


ing  miracle  and  revelation,  Ciod  and  immortality  were  scarcely 
shared  hy  the  majority  of  Jews,  who,  no  doubt,  sided  rather 
with  the  mystirs,  ami  found  their  mouthpiece  in  Abraham 
ben  David  of  Poscjuieres,  the  fierce  op{)onent  of  Maimonides. 
An  im|)artial  Jewish  theoh.^'y  must  therefore  take  cognizance 
of  both  sides;  it  must  include  the  mysticism  of  Isaac  Luria 
and  Sabbathai  Ilorwitz  as  well  as  the  rati(malism  of  Albo  and 
Leo  da  Moden;-  Wherever  is  voiced  a  new  doctrine  or  a 
new  view  of  life  and  life's  duty,  which  yet  bears  the  imprint 
of  the  Jewish  consciousness,  there  the  well-sjjring  of  divine 
inspiration  is  seen  {)ouriii>,'  forth  its  living  waters. 

•/.    Kven  the  latest  interpretation  of  the  Law,  oflered  by 
a  disciple  who  is  recognized   for  true  conscientiousness  in 
religion,   was   revealed   to   Moses  on   Sinai,   according  t(^  a 
Rabbinical  dictum.'     Thus  is  exquisitely  expressed  the  idea 
of  a  continuous  development  of  Israel's  religious  truth.    As  a 
safeguard  against  arbitrary  individualism,  there  was  the  prin- 
ciple of  loyalty  and  proper  regard  for  tradition,  which  is  aptly 
termed  by  Prcfessor  Lazarus  a  "  historical  continuity. "  •     The 
Midrashic  statement   is  quite  signlfuant   that  other  creeds 
founded  on  our  Bible  ran  only  adher>  to  the  letter,  but  the 
Jewish  religion  possesses  the  key  to  the  deeper  meaning  hidden 
and  presented  in  the  tradUional  interpretation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures.-i     That  is,  for  Judaism  Holy  Scripture  in  its  literal  sense 
IS  not  the  fmal  word  of  God  ;  the  Bil^Ie  is  rather  a  living  spring 
of  divine  revelation,  to  be  kept  ever  fresh  and  flowing  by  the 
active  force  of  the  spirit.     To  sum  up:  Judaism,  far  from 
ofTermg  a  system  of  beliefs  and  ceremonies  fi.xed  for  all  time, 
is  as  multifarious  and  manifold  in  its  aspects  as  is  life  itself.' 
It  comprises  all  phases  and  characteristics  of  both  a  national 
and  a  world  religion. 

'  See  Yer.  Hag.,  I,  76,  and  elsewhere. 
'  Ethics  of  Judaism,  I,  8-10;  Cei-tr  :  J,  Z.,  IX,  26,5. 

^Scc  Pesik.  R,  V,  p.  -6;   Midr.  Tmkunu,,  cd.  Buber,  Wayera  6  and  Ki 
I  hissa.  1 7.     Comp.  the  legend  of  Muses  and  Akiba,  Men.  jq  b. 


-X 


CHAPTKR  III 


The  Essence  of  the  Religion  of  Judaism 

I.  We  have  seen  how  (lifTicuIl  it  is  to  dcdnc  Jiuhiism  cU'arly 
and  adequately,  including  its  manifold  tendencies  and  insti- 
tutions. Still  iv  is  necessary  that  wo  reach  a  full  under- 
standing of  the  essence  of  Jadaistn  as  it  manifested  iiself  in 
all  ptTiods  of  its  history'.'  and  that  we  single  out  the  funda- 
mental idea  which  underlies  its  various  forms  of  existence 
and  its  different  movements,  both  intellectual  and  spiritual. 
There  can  he  no  disputing  the  fact  that  the  central  idea  of 
Judaism  and  its  life  i)urpose  is  the  doctrine  of  the  One  Only 
and  Holy  (iod,  whose  kingdom  of  truth,  justice  and  peace 
is  to  be  universally  established  at  the  end  of  time.  This  is 
the  main  teaching  of  Scripture  and  the  hope  voiced  in  the 
liturgy ;  while  Israel's  mission  to  defend,  to  unfold  and  to 
propagate  this  truth  is  a  corollary  of  the  doctrine  itself  and 
cannot  be  separated  from  it.  Whether  we  regard  it  as  Law 
or  a  system  of  doctrine,  as  religious  truth  or  world-mission, 
ihis  belief  pledged  the  little  tribe  of  Judah  to  a  warfare  of 
many  thousands  of  years  against  the  hordes  of  heathendom 
with  all  their  idolatry  and  brutality,  their  deification  of  man 
and  their  degradation  of  deity  to  human  rank.  It  betokened 
a  battle  for  the  pure  idea  of  God  and  man,  which  is  not  to 
end  until  the  principle  of  divine  holiness  has  done  away  with 
every  form  of  life  that  tends  to  degrade  and  to  disunite  man- 
kind, and  until  Israel's  tmly  One  has  become  the  unifying 
power  and  the  highest  ideal  of  all  humanity. 

'  Comp.  Geiger:  Xaclt^e!.  Sriir.,  II.  ,u  ,i;  also  h\>Jitd.  u.  s.  Gesch., 
I,  20-35;  B'^ck;  D.  Wr^en  d.  Jiidntthuii:^ :  Kschclbacher :  D.  Judenthiim  u.  d. 
Wesen  d.  Christenthums ;  Schreiner,  1.  c,  :it>-34. 

IS 


i6 


JEWISH  T!fEOLOi;Y 


»      ♦ 


i.   Of  this  Rfcat  world-duty  of  Israel  only  the  few  will 
ever  heomc  fully  conntious.     As  in  thed.ivs  of  the  prophets, 
m  in  later  ptri.KlH.  only  a  "small  remnant "  was  fully  itnhued 
with  the  lofty  ideal.     In  times  of  oppres>ion  the  great  mul- 
titude of  the  |R'opli«  |K-rsisti>d  in  a  eonsiientious  ..bservance 
of  the  Law  and  un<lerw«nt  sulTerifig  without  a  munnur.     Vet 
in   times  of   liberty  and  enlinhlinment    this  same  majority 
often  neK'lei  ts  to  a  ,imilate  the  t.ew  culture  to  its  own  su|)eri()r 
spirit,  but  instead  eagerly  assimilates  itself  to  the  surroun.linR 
world,  ami  thereby  loses  mueh  of  its  intrinsic  strength  and 
self-resiHH  t.      The  pendulum  of  thought  an<l  sentiment  swings 
to  and  fro  between   the  national  and   the  universal  ideals, 
while  only  a  few  maturer  minds  have  a  clear  vision  of  the 
goal  as  it  is  to  be  reached  along  both  lines  of  development. 
Nevertheless.  Judaism  is  in  a  true  sense  a  religion  of  the 
people.     It  is  free  from  all  priestly  tutelage  and  hierarchical 
interference.     It  has  no  n  clesiastical  system  of  belief,  guarded 
und  su{K-rvise(l  by  men  invested  with  suj)erior  powers.     Us 
teachers  and  leaders  have  always  hvn^  men  fnmi  among  the 
people,  like  the  prophets  of  yore,  with  no  s.icerdotal  privilege 
or  title;   in  f.ict,  in  his  own  household  each  father  is  the  (lod- 
appointed  tr.uher  of  his  i  hildren.' 

,3.  Neither  is  Judaism  the  creation  of  a  single  person, 
cither  prophet  or  a  man  with  divine  claims.  It  points  back 
to  the  patrian  hs  as  its  first  source  of  revelation.  It  .speaks 
not  of  the  (iod  of  .Mcses.  of  Amos  ami  Isaiah,  but  of  the  (lod 
of  Abraham.  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  thc-reby  declaring  the  Jewish 
genius  to  be  the  creator  of  its  own  religious  ideas.  It  is  there- 
fore incorrect  to  speak  of  a  "Mosaic,"  "Hebrew."  or  "Israel- 
itish,"  religion.  The  name  Judaism  alone  expresses  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  religious  heritage  ..f  Israel  ly  (he  tribe  of  Judah 
with  a  loyaltv  which  was  first  display.  J  by  Judah  himself 
in   the  patriarchal   household,  and   which   became  its  char- 

'  Dcut.  VI,  7  ;    XI,  19. 


T^. 


THE  KSSKNCK  OK  TMK  RFLIGIUN  OK  JIUAISM       17 

adcristic  virtue  in  thi-  history  of  thf  various  tribes.  Like- 
wise the  ri^i*!  measures  of  K/ia  in  ex|ulli»K  all  foreign 
elements  from  the  new  lommonwealih  proved  instrumental 
in  impressing  loyalty  ami  |)iety  upon  lewish  family  life. 

4.  As  it  was  hound  up  with  the  life  of  the  Jewish  people, 
Jutlaism  remained  forever  in  elose  touih  with  the  world. 
Therefore  it  a[)pre(iated  ade(|uately  the  boons  of  life,  and 
escaped  being  re<lu»fd  to  the  shadowy  form  of  "olherworld- 
liness."  '  It  is  a  religion  of  /;/«',  whii  h  it  wi->hes  to  sanctify 
by  duty  rather  than  by  laying  stress  on  the  hereafter.  It 
looks  to  the  lifcd  and  the  purity  of  the  molhc.  not  to  the  empty 
treed  ami  the  blind  belief.  Nor  is  it  a  religion  of  raUmplion, 
contemning  this  earthly  '.ife ;  for  Judaism  rej)udiates  the 
assumption  of  a  ra<li(  al  power  of  evil  in  man  or  in  the  world. 
Faith  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  good  is  essential  to  it. 
In  fact,  this  perfect  (onful.'nce  in  the  linal  victory  of  truth 
and  justii  e  «)ver  all  the  |)owers  of  falsehood  and  wrong  lent 
it  both  its  wondrous  intellectual  force  and  its  high  idealism, 
and  adorned  its  adherents  with  the  martyr's  crown  of  thorns, 
such  as  no  other  human  brow  has  ever  borne. 

5.  Christianily  and  Islam,  notwithstanding  their  alienation 
from  Ju('aism  and  frequent  hostility,  are  still  daughter-reli- 
gions. In  so  far  as  they  have  sown  the  seeds  of  Jewish  truth 
over  all  the  globe  and  have  done  their  share  in  upbuilding  the 
Kingdom  of  Ciod  on  earth,  they  must  be  recognized  as  divinely 
appointed  emissaries  and  agencies.  Still  Judaism  sets  forth 
its  doctrine  of  God's  unity  and  of  life's  holiness  in  a  far  superior 
form  than  does  Christianity.  It  neither  permits  the  deity 
to  be  degraded  intr  the  sphere  oi  the  sensual  and  human, 
nor  does  it  base  its  morality  upon  a  love  bereft  of  the  vital 
principle  of  justice.  Against  the  rigid  monotheism  of  Islam, 
which  demands  blind  submission  to  the  stern  decrees  of 
inexorable  fate,  Judaism  on  the  other  hand  urges  its  belief 
'  See  Geiger  :  Nachgcl.  Sihr.,  II,  37  f. 


I 


i8 


JtWISIl  THEOLOGY 


in  (.«K  s  paternal  love  and  merry.  wh.Vh  itlucatcs  all  the  chil- 
dren of  men.  thn.UKh  trial  ami  ^ufferinK,  for  their  high  destiny 
6.   Judaism  <knieH  most  emphati.ally  the  rixht  of  Chri^- 
tiamty  or  any  other  religion  t.)  arrogate  to  itself  the  title  of 
•the  ahHoIute  religion"  or  to  claim  to  Ik-  '"the  Imot  blossom 
ami  the  rip.>t   fruit   of  religious  devel<»pnu-nt.-     As  if  any 
mortal  man  at  any  time  or  umler  any  comlition  couM  sav  with- 
out  presumption  :  -  I  am  the  Truth  "  or  -  No  one  cometh  unt.. 
he    ather  hut  hy  un:"  '     ••  W|u-n  n,an  was  to  ,,nKud  from 
he  ham  s  <,f  h.s  Maker,"  says  the  Midrash.  -ihe  Holy  One 
I  lesMd  I,..  II,s  nam.-,  .ast  truth  .lown  t..  the  earth    saving' 
•Let   truth   spring  forth   fron,    the  earth,   and   righteousness 
look  down  from  heaven.--'     The  full  unfoMing  of  the  reli- 
gious an<l  moral  life  of  mankind  i.  the  work  of  countless  gen- 
erations yet  to  .ome.  ami  many  divine  heral.ls  of  truth  and 
righteousness    have   yet    to   contribute   their   share      In   this 
work  of  untold  ag.-s,  Judaism  claims  that   it   has  achieved 
arid  IS  still  achieving  its  full  part   as  the  prophetic  world- 
rehgion.     Its  law  of  righteousness,  which  takes  for  its  scope 
the  whole  of  human  life,  in  its  political  and        iai  relations 
as  well  as  its  personal  aspe.ts.  forms  the  foumlation  of  its 
ethics  for  all  tim.-;    while  its  hope  for  a  future  reali..ation  of 
the  Kingdom  of  G.kI  has  actually  become  the  aim  of  human 

isMhe  hallowing  of  life  rather  than  the  salvation  of  the  soul 
there  is  little  room  left  for  sectarian  e.xc  lusiveness.  or  for  i' 
heaven  for  believers  and  a  hell  for  unbelievers.  With  this 
broad  outlook  upon  life,  Judai>m  lays  claim,  m.t  to  perfcc- 
tum.  but  to  perfectibility;  it  has  supreme- .apa.itv  for  grow- 
ing toward  the  higl.ot  ideals  of  mankind,  as  beh'eld  by  the 
prophets  in  their  Me>sianic  visions. 

'John   Xiy   r,.     Con,,,.  „„r,„r,  |   ,,  ,,,.    ^^„,,  hh  Grundpr.bUme  d    Re- 
»Gen.  H    VLtL,  5. 


i\ 


■'Af,l 


CIIAPTFCR   IV 
Thf.  Jkwish  Artu  i.rs  ok  Faitii 

I.  In  order  t<»  rrac  h  a  t  Itar  ()[Mnion.  whi'thrr  «»r  not  Judaism 
has  artij  Ic^  of  faith  in  thi-  smM-  uf  Chiiri  h  <|nj;mas.  a  ijucstinn 
>io  mui  h  (liMU^■'nl  siiKf  the  (lay><  of  Mum-,  Mt-ndflssohn.  it 
socms  ncussary  lir^t  to  aicrt.iin  what  f.iith  in  jjiMUTal  rmans 
to  the  Jiu.'  Now  thf  wunl  ii-^cd  in  J(wi>,h  HttTaturt'  for 
faith  is  EmHtuih,  frnni  tht  ront  .\»i  in.  to  In-  linn  ;  thi-*  dttioti-H 
lirm  nliancf  upon  (lo<l,  and  hkcwi.i'  lirni  adhtrcntr  tu  hini. 
hcnci-  l)oth  /.;////  and  /•lillijiilnrss.  Both  S(ri[)turc  and  the 
Rabbi-,  dtnuiiidcd  tDnlidinn  trust  in  (iod,  Hi>  m('ssi'n^rer-«,  and 
His  words,  not  the  formal  aKf|»tan«i'  of  a  pn-sc  ribcd  btlitf.' 
Only  when  lontai  t  with  tlu'  rion  Jiwish  wurld  rmphasi/id 
till'  ncnl  for  a  « h-ar  txpr<  ssiun  «»f  the  biliif  in  the  unity  of 
(iod,  sui  h  as  was  found  in  the  Shema.'  and  when  the  |)roselyte 
was  expected  to  declare  in  some  delmite  form  the  fundamentals 
of  the  faith  he  espoused,  was  the  importance  of  a  concrete 
confession  lelt*  Accordingly  we  tind  the  iK'sinninj^s  of  a 
formulated  belief  in  the  syna^o^al  liturjjy,  in  the  Emeth  U'C 


'  Sec  Schcchtcr  :  Stndif<,  i.j;  iSi  ami  notes  151  f. ;  Mcnilrlssuhn  ;  C,f<.  Schr., 
\\\,  \2i.  {'om()  Si  li|t>int;i-r :  Ihn  h  HL,irim,  (:  1,0  (•  1,: ;  liiiii-.-Ntt  Kilit^iini  it. 
I  nJittlhtim-:,  170  f.,  17  s,  and  ihiTifu  I'lrli's  :  /imvi ',  1 1  -'  f. ;  M.irtiti  Si  lirfinir ; 
1  t  ,  M^.  f-;  J-  r.  ,  art.  I'aith  and  Arli.l.s  uf  I  ,iilh  (i;.  (1.  Hirs>  h) ,  I  I'lscnllial, 
Mar>;olis,  and  Kolili-r,  in  \ .  ]l.  C  C  \.  k.,  iSr/.  |).  S4;  n)0<.  p.  iH,S  lyj; 
11)05,  p.  8j;  NViimark  ;  art.  Ikkarim  in  (h.ir  h,i  Vahdulli;  I).  I'r.  Slrauss : 
I),  thrill,  (lliiiihniilchrr,  I,  :%. 

'Stc  (irn    XV.  r.;   Mik.  to  I'.x.  XIV;  J    i:.,  art.  Faith. 

»I)i-ut    Vr,  I  '.;   XI,  1,5   .m;    Num.  X\  ,  r  41. 

*  Sec  I'.oiisset,  II,  22.\  f.  The  term  l'i\tis  =  faith,  assumes  a  new  meaning 
in  iiciiL'ni>-l'c  littir^turs. 

«9 


I 


90 


JKWISH    IIIKOHMiV 


>u/..|A'  an.Hu.  AU,,.^  whiU-  In  .he-    H..KKa.|..h    Al.raham 

H  r..prcM.„|..|  |,o,h  a.  „k-  rxomplar  ..f  ..  h.  ru  ..f  f.uti,  ,„.|  a, 

thr   y,H.  ut ..  m„,in„..ry,  wamhrinK  alH.ut  t..  I.-...I  ,h..  heathen 

H'.ri.l    t.mar.N    the    pur.-    munothdnju    faith*    While    the 

J.w..h  u,mr,,t  ..f  faith  und.rw.nt  a  c-rtai..  transformation. 

"«1u.mc-.|  l.y  ..,h..r  sy.t.n,,  ..f  Mkf.  ami  th.-  f..rmubtion  of 

Jcvv„h  ..KtruHH  ap,H.ar...|  n.M.sary.  particularly  in  op,K,.i. 

«"'"   f;  •»..-  U„„„,„  .^,„,      ..,Ha„u„..,|an.rc.r.|s,   .,il|   lldirf 

tuv.r  iH.anu-  th.  ...-ntial  part  of  rdi«iu„,  .on.li.ioninK  huI- 

V  '  ".n.  as  .n  the-  Church  foun.l.l  by  Pau,.     r.,r.  as  .nrnm.! 

u     f'Tn ':?.'•'•"  ^'"  ^''""  "'"'^  •  -"'uc  t.  nut  a.nfc..ion  ; 
uiK>n  a  hallowcl  |,f,.,  „„t  .,  hollow    riT.I. 

J.  ThvTv  Is  no  Biblical  n..r  Kabbini.al  prmpt.  "Thou 
Shalt  bchcv.!-  Jewish  thinkers  felt  all  the  .uorl-  the  need 
..  IHunt  out  as  fmulamentals  or  roots  of  Juclai^n  those  cI.k-- 
r  nes  upon  whn  h  it  rests.  an.I  from  which  it  derive,  it,  vital 
loru.  i^  he  rabb.s,  the  -  root  -  of  faith  is  the  recognition 
.  <  .v.n..  Ju.me  to  whom  we  owe  ac cunt  for  all  our  d  ,i„g.s" 
n.c  rec.     I  ..f   the    ^Hr.,a.  which  is  called  in  the  Mi.hnah 

Mowed  by  the  solemn  afT.rmation.   -True  and  firm  beli 
-    h  s  for  us       (A..,,  ,,  „,,,  .,  ,.  „^^,  .^,^  ^ 

".  fact,    he  earnest  form  of  the  confession  of  faiih.«    In  the 
cour...  of  tmu-  this  confession  of  belief  in  the  unity  of  God 

c  u^  f ;    r'"'"'  ""'^'^"'  ^"  ^'■^^•^'  ^'^  '--  ^-  ^-  whole 

Ic     "red   !  ":''   "  ^.'^'  ^'^"""^  ^^'''-'^  -^''  -thorities 

cmlcavorcd  to  work  out  m  detail  a  series  of  fundamental 

back  to  the  beg,nnmgs  of  Pharisaism,  declares  the  following 

'Sec  J.  i:.,  art.   Jmett,  ,,^  \\,uib.  t  Soc  f    V     „,     »i 

Dtr.  II,  i,   sceKoblcr:    .\ln„.,i,.i..:f,    .co.    _  ..  ..' 

'  •  ■  "J-  i'-  •»45-  »  Kohicr,  I.  c. 


TtlK  JEWISH  ARTKi.KS  OF  PAlTfC 


It 


three  to  have  no  uharo  in  tho  wi.rhl  to  mmc  he  who  denies 
the  roi  rection  of  thf  «loai| ,  he  who  %Ay%  ih.it  the  Torah  - 
both  the  written  an<l  the  oral  Law  in  not  iliviiuly  ri'vraletl ; 
ami  the  Kpiiurean.  who  <I<k'^  not  iHJieve  in  the  moral  Kovern- 
ment  of  the  world  '  We  tiiwl  iure  (in  reverM-  order,  owing 
t<»  historical  t.>n<lition>).  the  Iwliefs  in  Kevelalion,  Retrihu- 
tion.  and  the  Hereafter  -^in^led  out  as  the  three  fundamenlah 
nf  Rahf)ini«al  JiulaiMiv  Kahhi  Ilananel.  the  great  North 
African  rainmdist,  about  ihe  middle  of  the  tenth  tcntury, 
jieems  to  have  been  uniler  the  irs'Ujenie  tif  Mohammedan  and 
Karaite  diKirine«*.  when  he  s|HMkH  of  four  fumlamentaU  of 
the  faith:  (mhI,  the  prophets,  the  future  '•■•ward  and  punish- 
ment, and  the  Mensiah.' 

4.  The  doctrine  of  the  One  and  Only  (;<hI  stands,  a^  a 
matter  of  course,  in  the  for.nround.  f'hilo  of  Alexandria, 
at  the  end  of  his  treatise  on  Creation,  sinj^les  out  five  prin- 
ciples which  are  hound  up  with  it,  \  i/  .  1,  (^kI's  existence 
and  His  government  of  the  world;  .».  His  unity  ;  ^,  the  world 
as  His  creation;  4,  the  harmonious  plan  by  which  it  was 
established;  and  <;.  His  Providence  J(»st|.hus.  loo.  in  his 
a|M>logy  for  Judaism  written  against  Apion.'  ctnpliasi/es  the 
belief  in  ticMl's  all-encompassing  Providenee,  His  incorporeal- 
ity,  and  His  self-sufVu  iency  as  the  Creator  of  the  universe. 

'The  Mishnaic  Afiicorot  inrrc!ip<>n<icil  to  iho  (Irrrk.  i:pi,oi,rri,t*.  anil  wa« 
no  lonKir  un<krslo<>.l  by  (he  Talmmlists,  mt  S.  hr.liiir  ;  .V/.,//;,  v  i.i  Jud.iism,  1, 
l.ir-  It  is  (Iflini'd  by  Joncphus  :  Aniui-.iti.i.  \.  1 1,  7  '  [hi-  Ipirurcan*  . 
arc  in  a  stale  of  frror,  who  catl  IVovi.Unt  .■  out  of  life,  and  do  nol  Udievc  that 
GcxI  takes  care  of  the  affairs  of  Ihc  world,  nor  th.it  the  iinivfr-*-  is  governed  l)y 
a  FJoing  which  outlives  all  thinirs  in  everlasting  M'lf  sulliciemy  and  f)liss.  but  de- 
rlare  it  to  »k-  self  sustaining  ami  void  of  a  ruler  and  ()rote<  lor  .  .  .  like  a  ship 
without  a  helmsman  and  like  a  •  hariot  without  a  driver ."  Comp,  also  Oppcn- 
hcim  in  Sfonatiihr.,  iSO|.  p.  14Q. 

'Sec  Rappaport:  "Biography  of  K  Hana.->el  •'  in  Hikkurr  ha  lilim. 
1842. 

•  Contra  A pionem,  11.  Ji.  Sec  J.  C.  Mueller :  Jm,  ,hut'  Sckrifi  stctn  Apisn, 
3« 1-313- 


22 


JEWISH  TIIF.OLO(;v 


■It 


Tho  sample  of  Islam.  wh.Vh  ha,l  very  early  formulated  a 
™,f«s,.,n  „f  faith  „f  sp„„la,i„. character  for  ,1  i|y  reeha  o„" 
n  ue„ce,l  „rst  Kara!,,.  a„„  ,he„  Rahl.nUe  teaehers  t,:",! 

<r.ul.     The  Karaites  mo,lele,i  their  eree,l  after  the  Moham- 
me.la„  pattern,  whi.  h  „aee  ,he,„  ten  artieies  of  faith  :  of  th™ 
Ih.  hrsl  three  .Iwelt  or,  r  ,.  ereati,.n  out  of  nothing;    2   the 
™;.c.ee  ..0,1.  thee. ;.,,  the  unity  an/lneJr;!: 

Ahraham  |,e„  Davi.l  (/*„  D.„,J)  of  T„le,lo  set,  forth  in 
h,s     Suhhme  Faith"  six  es.s..„,ials  of  ,he  Jewish  faith  :, 

otence  of  God   (to  th.s  he  suhjoins   the  existence  of  anfie lie 
tenss);    5.  revelation  and  the  immutaWiity  of  the  I.aiv 

modte.al    tlunkers,    propounded    thirteen  articles  of   faith 
"huh  toolc  the  place  of  a  creed  in  .1  .  Syna.osue  for  ,h    f  ,1 

u  \  ^  ""■urt.cleswere:  ,.  the  existence;  2,  the 

h  ,  H  ;■■  ""■";'"'™l">-:  4.  the  eternity  of  G,»l;  and 
,.  that  He  alone  should  be  the  ohject  of  worship;  to  Uich 
we  must  add  his  ,o,h,  divine  Providence-  O  hc"rs  not 
^attshed  w,th  the  purely  metaphysical  form  of  the  Ma  mon" 

"s::s?p™^'r'"' .''' ''''^'""'■">' "™''"" -' "' ""'Wns 

•ina  special  J  rovidenct'.* 

D.  aS:  z  ;inv  r::s  ;"i,t  '"''V''"' '  '^'-'-  30-4. ;  ooid.iher. 

ui.on  the  Jewish.  I, //.l/.a;;;/^'  '''  '"'     '  "     '''  f""''^^'*-'*  ""''  -""^^  light 

^63  ;   Holder  :   C.scH.  ,.  Do^.en,         Bel'^.o;  "    '  "^'   ' '    '''''''"•  '  -' 
'SeeLoew.  1.  c,  150;   Schccb     ,  1.  c,  ,0s. 


S 


THE  JEWISH  ARTICLES  OF  FAITH 


23 


1 

1 


This  speculative  form  of  faith,  however,  has  been  most 
severely  (lenouna-d  Ijy  Samuel  David  Lu/./,atto  ( iSoo   1865)  as 
"Atticism"';  that  is,  the  nelleiii>tic  or  philosophic  tendency 
•.  .  -Ml  ider  religion  as  a  purely  intellectual  system,  instead  of 
thi  i^^rvai  .'.ynamic  force  for  man's  moral  and  spiritual  elcva- 
tiup,     H--  holds  that  Judaism,  as  the  faith  transmitted  to  us 
.roi:    \l)rah  im,  our  ancestor,  must  he  considered,  not  as  a 
mere  s[)eculative  mode  of  reasoning,  hut  as  a  moral  life  force, 
manifested   in    the   practice  of    righteousness   and    brotherly 
love.     Indeed,  this  view  is  supported  by  modern  Biblical  re- 
search, which  brings  out  as  the  salient  point  in  Biblical  tea(  h- 
ing  the  ethical  character  of  the  God  taught  ijy  the  prophets, 
and  shows  that  the  essential  truth  of  revelation  is  not  to  be 
found  in  a  metaphysical  but  in  an  ethical  monotheism.     At 
the  same  time,  the  fact  must  not  be  overlooked   that    the 
Jewish  doctrine  of  God's  unity  was  strengthened  in  the  con- 
test with  the  dualistic  and  trinitarian  beliefs  of  other  religions, 
and  that  this  unity  gave  Jewish  thought  both  lucidity  and 
sublimity,  so  that  it  has  surpassed  other  faiths  in  intellectual 
power  and  in  passion  for  truth.     The  Jewish  conception  of 
God  thus  makes  truth,  as  well  as  righteousness  and  love,  both 
a  moral  duty  for  man  and  a  hi>to;ical   task  comjjrising  all 
humanity. 

5.  The  second  fundamental  article  of  the  Jewish  faith  is 
divine  revelation,  or,  as  the  Mishnah  expresses  it,  the  belief 
that  the  Torah  emanates  from  God  [min  ha  shamayim).  In 
the  Maimonidean  thirteen  articles,  this  is  divided  into  four : 
his  6th,  belief  in  the  prophets;  7,  in  the  prophecy  of  Moses 
as  the  greatest  of  all ;  8,  in  the  ('ivine  origin  of  the  Torah, 
both  the  written  and  the  oral  Law ;  and  9,  its  immutability. 
The  fundamental  character  of  these,  however,  was  contested 

'Sec  P.  Hloch:  "Luzzatto  als  ReliRionsphilosoph"  in  Samuel  David  Liiz- 
zalin,  p.  49-71.  Comp.  llochmuth:  CoUeskennlniss  und  GoUcsvcrchrui.g,  Ein- 
leitung. 


24 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


by  Hisdai  Crescas  and  his  disciples,  Simon  Duran  and  Joseph 
Albo.»  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  are  based  not  so  much  upon 
Rabbinical  teaching  as  upon  the  prevailing  views  of  Moham- 
medan theology ,«  and  were  undoubt  dly  dictated  by  the 
desire  to  dispute  the  claims  of  Christianity  and  Islam  that 
they  represented  a  higher  revelation.  Our  modern  historical 
view,  however,  includes  all  human  thought  and  belief;  it 
therefore  rejects  altogether  the  assumption  of  a  supernatural 
origin  of  either  the  written  or  the  oral  Torah,  and  insists  that 
the  subject  of  prophecy,  revelation,  and  inspiration  in  general 
be  studied  in  the  light  of  psychology  and  ethnology,  of  general 
history  and  comparative  religion. 

6.  The  third  fundamental  article  of  the  Jewish  faith  is 
the  belief  in  a  moral  government  of  the  world,  which  mani- 
fests itself  in  the  reward  of  good  and  the  punishment  of  evil, 
either  here  or  hereafter.  Maimonides  divides  this  into  two 
articles,  which  really  belong  together,  his  loth.  God's  knowl- 
edge of  all  human  acts  and  motives,  and  ii.  reward  and 
pun.  iiment.  The  latter  includes  the  hereafter  and  the 
last  Da>  of  Judgment,  which,  of  course,  applies  to  all  human 
beings, 

7-  Closely  connected  with  retribution  is  the  belief  in  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead,  which  is  last  among  the  thirteen 
articles.  This  belief,  which  originally  among  the  Pharisees 
had  a  national  and  political  character,  and  was  therefore 
connected  especially  with  the  HoI>  Land  (as  will  be  seen  in 
Chapter  LIV  below),  received  in  the  Rabbinical  schools  more 
and  more  a  universal  form.  Maimonides  went  so  far  as  to 
follow  the  Platonic  view  rather  than  that  of  the  Bible  or  the 
Talmud,  and  thus  transformed  it  into  a  belief  in  the  con- 
tmuity  of  the  soul  after  death.  In  this  form,  however,  it  is 
actually  a  postulate,  or  corollary,  of  the  belief  in  retribution. 

'  See  Schechter,  1.  c,  167  and  the  notes. 

» See  Horowitz  :  D.  Psychologie  u.  d.  jued.  ReligionsphilosophU,  1883. ' 


THK  JEWISH  ARTICLES  OF  FAITH 


25 


8.  The  old  hope  for  the  national  resurrection  of  Israel  took 
in  the  Maimonidean  system  the  form  of  a  belief  in  the  coming 
of  the  Messiah  (article  12),  to  which,  in  the  comnui  ary  on 
the  Mishnah,  he  gives  the  character  of  a  belief  in  the  i-estora- 
tion  of  the  Davidic  dynasty.  Joseph  Albo,  with  others, 
disputes  strongly  the  fundamental  character  of  this  belief; 
he  shows  the  untenability  of  Maimonides'  position  by  referring 
to  many  Talmudic  passages,  and  at  the  same  time  he  casts 
polemical  side  glances  upon  the  Christian  Church,  which  is 
really  founded  on  Messiar'sm  in  the  special  form  of  its  Chris- 
tology.'  Jehuda  ha  Levi,  in  his  Cuzari,  substitutes  for  this  as 
a  fundamental  doctrine  the  belief  in  the  election  of  Israel 
for  its  world-mission.'-  It  certainly  re(K)unds  to  the  credit  of 
the  leaders  of  the  modern  Reform  movement  that  they  took 
the  election  of  Israel  rather  than  the  Messiah  as  their  cardinal 
doctrine,  again  bringing  it  home  to  the  religious  consciousness 
of  the  Jew,  and  placing  it  at  the  very  center  of  their  system. 
In  this  way  they  reclaimed  for  the  Messianic  hope  the  uni- 
versal character  which  was  originally  given  it  by  the  great 
seer  of  the  Exile.' 

9.  The  thirteen  articles  of  Maimonides,  in  setting  forth 
a  Jewish  Credo,  formed  a  vigorous  opposition  to  the  Christian 
and  Mohammedan  creeds;  they  therefore  met  almost  uni- 
versal acceptance  among  the  Jewish  people,  and  were  given 
a  place  in  the  common  prayerbook,  in  spite  of  their  deficien- 
cies, as  shown  by  Crescas  and  his  school.  Nevertheless, 
we  must  admit  that  Crescas  shows  the  deeper  insight  into 
the  nature  of  religion  when  he  observes  that  the  main  fallacy 
of  the  Maimonidean  system  lies  in  founding  the  Jewish  faith 
on  speculative  knowledge,  which  is  a  matter  of  the  intellect, 
rather  than  love  which  fir  ws  from  the  heart,  and  which  alone 
leads  to  piety  and  goodness.    True  love,  he  says,  requires 

'  See  J.  E.,  art.  Albo  bv  E.  G.  Hirsch,  and  the  bibliography  there. 
» See  Schechter,  1.  c,  p.  162.  '  Isa.  XLIX,  9,  and  elsewhere. 


''   k 


36 


JEWISH  T'"    M.OGY 


i 


the  belief  neither  in  retribut.    ,  n..r  in  immortah'ty.     More- 
over, >n  str.kinjr  contrast  to  tin-  i.isistence  ot  Maimonides  on 
the  .mmutal)ility  of  the  Mcsai.  Law,  Crescas  maintains  the 
_     sib.luy  oi  Its  continuous  progress  in  arc  urrlance  with  the 
inte  lectual  and  spiritual  needs  of  the  time.  or.  what  amounts 
to  the  same  thinj,'.  the  continuous  perfectibility  of  the  re- 
vealed Law  itself.'     Thus  the  crificism  of  Crescas  leads  at 
oncx'  to  a  radically  different  theolo-y  than  that  of  ^Llimc,nides 
and  one  which  ai)pcals  far  more  to  our  own  religic^us  thought' 
lo    Another  doctrine  of  Judaism,  which  was  greatly  under- 
rated by  medieval  scholars,  and  which  has  been  emi)hasized 
in  modern  tmies  only  in  contrast  to  the  Christian  theory  of 
or.gmal  sm,  is  that  man  was  created  in  the  image  of  God 
Judaism  holds  that  the  soul  of  man  came  forth  pure  from  the 
hand  of  Its  Maker,  endowed  with  freedom,  unsullied  by  any 
inherent  evil  or  inherited  sin.     Thus  man  is,  through  the  exer- 
cise of  his  ovvTi  free  will,  capable  of  attaining  an  ever  greater 
perfection  by  unfolding  and  developing  to  an  ever  higher  degree 
his  mental,  moral,  and  sj.iritual  powers  in  the  course  of  historv 
1  his  IS  the  Biblical  idea  of  (kkI's  spirit  as  immanent  in  man  • 
a  1  prophetic  truth  is  l;asecl  upon  it;  and  though  it  was  often 
obscured,  this  theory  was  voiced  by  many  of  the  masters  of 
Rabbinical  lore,  such  as  R.  Akiba  and  others.^ 

II.  Every  attempt  to  formulate  the  doctrines  or  articles 
of  faith  of  Judaism  was  made,  in  order  to  guard  the  Jewish 
faith  from  the  intrusion  of  foreign  beliefs,  never  to  impose 
disputed  beliefs  upon  the  Jewish  community  itself.  ^Lany 
indeed,  challenged  the  fundamental  character  of  the  thirteen 
articles  of  ^L^imonides.  Albo  reduced  them  to  three,  viz  • 
the  belief  in  God,  in  revelation,  and  retribution;  others',  with 
more  arbitrariness  than  judgment,  singled  out  three,  five,  six 
or  even  more  as  principal  doctrines  ; '  while  rigid  conservatives,' 

'  See  Schechter,  1.  c  ,  p.  i6g. 
•  Sec  Schechter,  1.  c. 


'  Aboth,  III,  I ;  Gen.  R.  XXI,  5. 


jlai 


THE  JEWISH  ARTICLES  OF   FAITH 


27 


such  as  Isaac  AbravancI  and  David  bin  Zimra,  aIto>];cther 
disapproved  the  attempt  to  formulate  articles  of  faith.  The 
former  maintained  that  every  word  in  the  Torah  is,  in  fact, 
a  principle  of  faith,  and  the  latter  '  pointed  in  the  same  way 
to  the  613  commandments  of  the  Torah,  spoken  of  by  R. 
Simlai  the  Haj,')j;adist  in  the  third  century. ^ 

The  present  age  of  histt)ri(al  research  imposes  the  same 
necessity  of  restatement  or  reformulaticm  ujion  us.  We 
must  do  as  Maimonides  did,  —  as  Jews  have  always  done, — 
l)()int  out  anew  the  really  fundameiital  doctrines,  and  discard 
those  which  have  lost  their  holduj)  on  the  modern  Jew,  or  which 
conflict  directly  with  his  religious  consciousness.  If  Judaism 
is  to  retain  its  prominent  position  among  the  powers  of  thought, 
anrl  to  be  clearly  understood  by  the  modern  world,  it  must 
again  reshape  its  religious  truths  in  harmony  with  the  domi- 
nant ideas  of  the  age. 

Many  attemi)ts  of  this  character  have  been  made  by  modern 
rabbis  and  teachers,  most  of  them  founded  upon  Albo's  three 
articles.  Those  who  {)enetrated  somewhat  more  deeply  into 
the  essence  of  Judaism  added  a  fourth  article,  the  belief  in 
Israel's  priestly  mission,  and  at  the  same  time,  instead  of  the 
belief  in  retribution,  included  the  doctrine  of  man's  kinshif) 
with  God,  or,  if  one  may  coin  the  word,  his  (iod-cliildship:^ 
F\'w.  however,  have  succeeded  in  working  (jut  the  entire  con- 
tent of  the  Jewish  faith  from  a  modern  viewpoint,  which 
must  include  historical,  critical,  and  i)sychok)gical  research, 
as  well  as  the  study  of  comparative  religion. 

12.  The  following  trii)artite  plan  is  that  of  the  present 
attempt  to  present  the  doctrines  of  Judaism  .systematically 
along  the  lines  of  historical  development : 

»  Sec  I.0CW,  1.  c,  137.  and  his  "  M,ifl,;ili,"  p.  331 ;   Schechter,  I.  c. 

'  Makk.  23  b. 

'  See  J.  E.,  art.  Catechism  hy  E.  S.  hreihcr. 


28 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


^ 


I.     CiOD 

a.  Man's  consciousness  of  God,  and  divine  revelation. 

b.  Go<l's  spirituality,  His  unity.  His  holiness,  His  perfection. 

c.  His  relation  to  the  world  :   Creation  and  Providence. 

d.  His  relation  to  man :  His  justice,  His  love  and  mcrty. 

H.   Mav 

a.  Man's  God-childship ;  hir  rr.oral  freedom  and  yearning  for  God. 

b.  Sin  and  repentance;   prayer  and  worship;    immortality,  reward  and 

punishment. 

c.  Man  and  humanity:  the  moral  factors  in  history. 

III.  Israel  and  the  Kingdom  of  God 

a.  The  priest-mission  of  Israel,  its  destiny  as  teacher  and  martyr  among 

the  nations,  and  its  Messianic  hope. 

b.  The  Kingdom  of  God:    the  nations  and  religions  of  the  world  in  a 

divine  plan  of  universal  salvation. 

c.  The  Synagogue  and  its  institutions. 

d.  The  ethics  of  Judaism  and  the  Kingdom  of  God. 


PART    I.     GOD 


A.  GOD  AS  HE  MAKES  HIMSELF  KNOWN  TO  MAN 


CHAPTER  V 


Man's  Consciousness  of  God  and  Belief  in  God 


1.  Holy  Writ  employs  two  terms  for  religion,  both  of 
which  lay  stress  upon  its  moral  and  spiritual  nature :  Yirath 
Elohitn  —  "fear  of  God"  —  and  Daath  Elohim  —  "knowledge 
or  consciousness  of  God."  Whatever  the  fear  of  God  may 
have  meant  in  the  lower  stages  of  primitive  religion,  in  the 
Biblical  and  Rabbinical  conceptions  it  exercises  a  wholesome 
moral  effect ;  it  stirs  up  the  conscience  and  keeps  man  from 
wrongdoing.  Where  fear  of  God  is  lacking,  violence  and 
vice  are  rife ;  *  it  keeps  society  in  order  and  prompts  the 
individual  to  walk  in  the  path  of  duty.  Hence  it  is  called 
"the  beginniiir;  of  w'sdom."  *  The  divine  revelation  of  Sinai 
accentuates  as  its  main  purpose  "to  put  the  fear  of  God  into 
the  hearts  of  the  people,  lest  they  sin."  ' 

2.  God-consciousness,  or  "knowledge  of  God,"  signifies  an 
inner  experience  which  impels  man  to  practice  the  right  and  to 
shun  evil,  the  recognition  of  God  as  the  moral  power  of  life. 
"Because  there  is  no  knowledge  of  God."  therefore  do  the 
people  heap  iniquity  upon  iniquity,  says  Hosea,  and  he  hopes 
to  see  the  broken  covenant  with  the  Lord  renewed  through 


» Gen.  XX,  ii. 
» Ex.  XX,  20. 


» Ps.  CXI,  10;  Prov.  IX,  10;  Job  XXVIII,  28. 


29 


30 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


faithfulness  grounclt-tl  on  the  consi  iou>niss  «.f  God  '  Jeremiah 
also  insists  upon  "the  knowledge  of  Ooil"  as  a  niorii  fone, 
and,  liki-  llosea,  he  anli(  ipates  the  renewal  of  he  hroke'i  cove- 
nant when  "the  Lord  shall  write  His  law  upon  the  heart" 
of  the  people,  and  "they  shall  all  know  Him  from  the  least 
of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them."'*'  Wherever  Scripture 
speaks  of  "knowledj;e  of  (iod."  '  it  alwa\>  means  the  moral 
and  spiritual  reccgnition  of  the  Deity  as  life's  inmost  power, 
determining  human  conduct,  and  hy  no  means  refers  to  mere 
intellectual  i)erception  of  the  truth  of  Jewish  monotheism, 
which  is  to  re^  e  the  diverse  forms  t)f  f)oly theism.  This 
misconception  of  the  term  "knowledge  of  (iod,  "as  used  in  the 
Bible,  led  the  leading  medieval  thinkers  of  Judaism,  especially 
the  school  of  Maimonides,  and  even  dov.n  to  MendelsM)hn, 
into  the  error  of  confusing  religicm  and  philosophy,  as  if  both 
resulted  from  {)ure  reason.  It  is  man's  moral  nature  rather 
than  his  intellectual  capacity,  that  leads  him  "to  know  God 
and  walk  in  His  ways."  • 

3.  It  is  mainly  through  the  conscictuc  that  man  becomes 
conscious  of  Clod.  He  sees  himself,  a  m  .ral  hiing,  guided  by 
motives  which  lend  a  |)uri)ose  to  his  acts  and  his  omissions, 
and  thus  feels  that  this  purpose  of  his  must  somehow  be  in 
accord  with  a  higher  purpo.se,  that  of  a  Power  who  directs  and 
controls  the  whole  of  life.  The  more  he  sees  purpose  ruling 
individuals  and  nations,  the  more  will  his  (iod-consciousne.ss 
grow  into  the  conviction  that  there  is  but  One  and  Only  God, 
who  in  awful  gram'cur  holds  dominion  over  the  world.  This 
is  the  developmental  process  of  religious  truth,  as  it  is  un- 

'  Hos.  IV,  I,  f);   II.  2;  XIII,  4-5. 

=  Jcr.  IX.  2^-  XXII.  10;  XXXI,  .u-33. 

'Deut.  l\\  M)\  VII.  Q. 

«  Knowledge  as  intellect  i-  l)n.iiK'tit  out  a'^  early  as  the  Rook  of  V/i^dom, 
XIII,  I ;  see  especially  .Muimonidcs  :  1-  ,,),/,•  ha  Tonili,  I,  i-j  ;  Mnrrh.  I.  ^q  •.  Iir| 
28.  In  opposition,  see  Kosin  :  Elhik  dts  Maimonides.  10 1 ;  Luzzatto  and  Hodi- 
muth,  I.  c. ;  also  Dillmann :  II.  U.  d.  alttcstamentl.  Theol.,  204  f. 


CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  (iOI)   AND   BELIEF  IN  GOD      31 

folded  by  the  proj.nets  and  as  it  undtrlii-H  the  historic  frame- 
work of  tin-  Hil)U-  !n  thi>  li^ht  Jiwi^h  monotheism  appears 
as  the  ripe  fruitage  of  r«  li^ion  in  its  universal  as  well  as  its 
primitive  form  of  (itKl-conseiousness.  as  the  highest  attain- 
ment of  man  in  his  eternal  seeking  after  (I.mI.  I'olytheism, 
on  the  other  hand,  with  its  idolatrous  and  immoral  practires. 
appeared  to  the  prophets  and  law  givers  of  Israel  to  he.  not  a 
competing  religion,  hut  simply  a  falling  away  from  (;(.d.  They 
felt  it  to  l>e  a  loss  «)r  eclipse  of  the  genuine  (io<  I -consciousness. 
The  ol)je(  t  of  revelation,  therefore,  is  to  l.-ad  hatk  all  mankin<l 
to  the  CkxI  whcmi  it  lia<l  de-erted.  and  to  restore  to  all  men  their 
primal  consciousness  of  God.  with  its  power  of  moral  regenera- 
tion. 

4-  In  the  same  degree  as  this  God-consciousness  grows 
stronger,  it  cry^talli/.es  into  hrlirf  in  (iod,  and  culminates  in 
love  of  God.  As  stated  above,'  in  Judaism  belief  -  Emunah 
—  never  denotes  the  acceptance  of  a  creed.  It  is  rather  the 
confiding  trust  by  which  the  frail  mortal  finds  a  firm  hold  on 
God  amidst  the  uncertainties  and  anxieties  of  life,  the  search 
for  His  sheltir  in  distress,  the  reliance  on  His  ever-ready  help 
when  one's  own  powers  fail  The  believer  is  like  a  liltlJ  child 
who  follows  confidingly  the  guidance  of  his  father,  and  feels 
safe  when  near  his  arm.  In  fact,  the  double  meaning  of 
Emunah,  faith  and  faithfulness,  suggests  man's  child-like 
faith  in  the  paternal  faithfulness  of  (iod.  The  patriarch 
Abraham  is  presented  in  both  Biblical  and  Rabbinical  writings 
as  the  pattern  of  such  a  faith,^  and  the  Jewish  people  likewise 
arc  characterized  in  the  Talmud  as  "believers,  sons  of  be- 
lievers."^ The  Midrash  extols  such  life-cheering  faith  as 
the  power  which  inspires  true  heroism  and  deeds  of  valor." 

5.   The  highest  triumph  of  God-ronsciousnoss,  however,  is 
attained  in  love  of  God  such  as  can  renounce  cheerfully  all 


» Ch.  IV. 

*  Shau.  9;  a. 


»Gen.  XV,  6;  see  J.  E.,  art.  .\braham. 
*  Mek.  licsiidiiak  6,  p.  41  ab. 


3* 


]KWim  TlfEOU)OY 


the  boons  of  life  and  undergo  the  bitierrst  woe  without  a 
murmur.    The  book  of  Deutironomy  inculcates  love  of  (kkI 
as  the  bcgmninK  and  the  .ri.l  o(  the  Law,'  and  the  rabbis 
declare  it  to  be  the  highest  tr^pc  of  human  perfection.     In 
commenting  u|H)n  the  verse,  '  I'hou  shall  love  the  I.^)rd  thy 
(f«Hl  with  all  'hy  heart,  with  all  thy  stml,  and  with  all  t'  y 
might,"  they  say:    "Love  the  Law.  even  when  thy  lift  is 
demanded  as  its  price,  nay,  even  with  the  last  breath  of  thy 
body,  with  a  heart  that  has  ro  room  for  dissent,  amid  every 
visitation  of  destiny !"  «    They  point  to  the  tragic  martyrdom 
of  R.  Akiba  as  an  example  of  iuch  a  love  sealed  by  death.     In 
like  manner  they  refer  the  expression,  "they  that  love  Thee,"  * 
to   those  who  bear  insults  without  resentment;    who   hear 
themselves  abused  without  retort ;   who  do  good  unselfishl> , 
without  caring  hr  recognition;  and  who  cheerfully  suffer  as 
a  test  of  their  fortitude  and  their  love  of  God.*    Thus  through- 
out all  Rabbinical  literature  love  of  God  is  regarded  as  the 
highcFt  principle  of  religion  and  as  the  ideal  of  human  per- 
fection, which  was  exemplified  by  Job,  according  to  the  oldest 
Haggadah,   and,  according  to  the  Mishnah,  by  Abraham.' 
Another  interpretation  of  the  verse  cited  from  Deuteronomy 
reads,  "Love  God  in  such  a  manner  that  thy  fellow-creatures 
may  love  Him  owing  to  thy  deeds."  • 

All  these  passages  and  many  others  ^  show  what  a  promi- 
nent place  the  principle  of  love  occupied  in  Judaism.  This 
is,  indeed,  best  voiced  in  the  Song  of  Songs :«"  For  love  is 
strong  as  death ;  the  flashes  thereof  are  flashes  of  fire,  a  very 

«  Deut.  VI,  s;   X,  u;   XI,  i ;   XIII,  22;   XXX.  6,  16,  jo. 

•  Sifre  to  Deut.  VI.  5.  •  Ju,lj-c*  V.  31.  *  Sh.ib.  88  b. 

•  See  Testament  of  Job,  and  notes  by  Kohler,  in  Semilic  Studies  in  Memory 
of  Alexander  Kohut,  271,  and  Sola.  V,  $. 

•  Sifrc,  1.  c. 

'See  Yom.-i,  86  a;  T.  d.  El.  R.,  XXIV;  Maimonidcs,  //.  Teshuhah,  X; 
Crcscas:  Or  Adonai,  I,  3.  Comp.  Testaments  Twelve  Patriarchs,  Simeon  3, 
4 ;  Issachar,  5 ;  Philo :  Quod  omnis  probus  liber,  1 2  and  elsewh<:rc. 

•  Song  of  Songs  VUI,  6,  7. 


li' ' 


k 


/I    ...: 


CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  GOD  AND  BELIEF  IN  GOD      3J 

flame  of  the  Lord.  Many  watcrn  cannot  quench  that  love 
neither  can  the  H.khIs  drown  it."  It  set  the  heart  of  the  Jew 
aglow  .lurinK  all  th.-  i enturi.s.  pr.)mptlnK  him  to  sacrifice  hln 
life  and  all  that  was  dear  to  him  for  the  KlonTu  ation  <,f  his 
(khI.  to  undergo  for  his  faith  a  martyrdom  without  pa  allel 
in  history. 


Li' 


CHAPTKR    VI 
RrvFi.\Ti<)\.  I'RoPHMY.  AM)  Insimration 

t.    Diviru-  rrvilatioii  >i«nili.>,  iw..  diiTrrrnt   thin.;s:    first 
O.Hrssclf-nv,l..ti..n.  win.  I,  the  Kaf.his  talli-.|  07//«v  .SV/^/,,.,/,' 
"Ihi-  manifcMalion  ..t  ll,.-  .livim-  rriscnu-."  an.l,  Hium.l    the 
rfv,lati.,n  of  Hi>  will,  lor  wl.uh  they  usnl  Ihi-  t.-rm  Torah 
mm   ha  Sluim.ntm.   -Jhc   I.aw  as  fmanaliriK   from   (i...|  -  ' 
'riu«  fcrnuT  apiuali.l  to  tlu-  thild  like  InliVf  of  tlu-  Hil.lical 
am-,  whi.h  t.M.k  no  ..iTium-  at  aiilliro|)om<.r|>hu   iMi-as.  siu  h 
as  tlu-  <lrs..nl  of  (;o(|  from  lu-av.i.  to  tarlh,  Mis  appraritiK  to 
men  in  surm-  vi^iM,'  form.  <,r  .n>>  oilur  miracle;    tlu-  latter 
appears  to  be  more  a.eeptal.le  to  those  of  more  a.lvaiunJ 
reliK'ious  views.      Hol|,  n.nc  epti.ms,  however,  imply  that  the 
reliKious  truth  of  revelati.,n  was  eommuniiate.l  to  man  by  a 
special  aet  of  (mmI. 

2.    Kaeh  creative  a.  t   is  a   m>s|ery   bevond   th.-   reach   of 
human  ..bservation.     In  ail   f.el.l,  of  endeavor  the  (la^hinK 
forth  of  Kenius  impresses  us  a.  the  work  <.f  a  mysterious  force 
vvhuh  acts  upon  an  elect  individual  or  nation  and  brings  it 
into   close   touch    with   the  divine,     In    the   religious  genius 
especially  is  this  true;    for  in  him  all  the  spiritual  fortes  of 
the  a^e  seem  to  be  ener«i/e.l  and  set  into  motion,  then  to  burst 
forth  into  a  new  religious  coiiMiousness.  which  is  to      volu- 
tioni/e    religious   thought    an.l    feelin-.     I„    a    child  like  a^'c 
when   the  emotional    life  an.l    the  i.na.uinat.on  prclominate 
and  man's  mm.l.  >til!  receptive,  is  overwhelm^  by  mighty 
visions,  the  Deity  stirs  the  soul  in  sonn-  form  perceptible  tu 

•  See  SifrcIUu,,  XXVI,  s;    S.u,!,.  X,  ,  .  J    K  .  ar,.  kcv.la.ion ;   DiUmann. 
Oi  f. ;   Ceiger,  I).  Jud.  u.  s.  t,.s.  h.  I,  j.,  f. 

i4 


■2^J2m£m^Si^!^ll^mSM^ 


REVIXAl      N.   PROnifU  V,   AND   IN'sriRATION        jj 

H  lKukKroun.1;  h..  l„.M.„u.  a  pu.^ivc  in^.tunu-nl,  .ho  nouth- 
Pim-  of  ,h,  I,,,,,,    f,.,„,  „,.,,  J,,.  ^,.,^.^,^.^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^ 

IH-opl...  a„.|  ,„  ui.  vi.ion  Ih-  bdu.l.K  („>.|  wlm  s,-,..!.  him       nm 
iM.|Hya,uc-  oM..,.|  ..,.,„  „,..  IM,  kKrourul  of  .h.  soul,  vvh.Vh 

J^   Th..  H,a..,  of  rhc  soul  wh.„  nu„  s...  mh  h  MMon.  of  ,hc 
u  y  pr..|o,„,„a..  i„  .h.-  \n;uunn,.  of  all  nliKf,  .ns      A. .  ..r.|- 

m    ,  S.r,p  ur..  a.r.Iu.  .ud,  r.-vlations  ,o  n..n-I,ra..Ii,..H  as 

wcllas.     uupa.ru.^  -M.irm. 

tk  an.|  Lal>an,   Halaa.,,.  J..I.,  an.l   Klipha/.-'     Tlu-r.-fon-  ,lu- 
Jfw.,h   proph...    i,   no.    .li.,iM^ui.l,.-.|    from    thr   r.-.l    by    tho 
!"'"'•"">••"    --iv...livin..    nv.la.ion,   I,,.,    ra.h.T    l.v   „, 
"!':'"^"    "^"^'-<"-    <•'.-    r.vda.ion    uhi.h    h.-r....ivvH'    nL 
v.>.on  .onu.  .ru,,,  a  moral  (;o.|      Th.^  J.wi.h  ^.-nius  p.-r.  .ivnl 

-1  as  . lu.  nu.ra   pow.r  of  li,.,  ..|.,„„,  ,•„  „„.  ,,,„,  ,^^  ^^^. 
^    Ahraham,    Mos.s,    ,,|ij.,,   „,   ,,,   „,..   ,  J 

a  h.Kh  .r  .phcre,  where  ,h.-y  ranv...|  a  .uw  tru.h.  hi.l.orto 
to  Halaam  (Num.  XXIV    w    u,.|   oVli,  h  ^  n  ^n  ^  ""  '•'^•^•'^''  '■"• 

' "  '■  '  •■'•■'■"''•  ■'"'•   '^""'  ■■^■^iV;  job  IV,  10  f.;  XXXVIII,  ,. 


36 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


\\\ 


ll 


hidden  froir  man.  Li  speaking  through  them,  God  ap- 
pi  red  actually  to  have  stepped  into  the  sphere  of  human  life 
as  its  moral  Ruler.  This  self-revelation  of  God  as  the  Ruler 
of  man  in  righteousness,  which  must  be  viewed  in  the  life  of 
any  prophet  a.'-  a  providential  act,  forms  the  great  historical 
sequence  in  the  history  of  Israel,  upon  which  rests  the  Jewish 
religion.' 

4.  The  divine  rev  Nation  in  Israel  was  by  no  means  a 
single  act,  but  a  process  of  development,  and  its  various 
stages  correspond  to  the  degrees  of  culture  of  the  people. 
For  this  reason  the  great  prophets  also  depended  largely 
upon  dreams  and  visions,  at  least  in  their  consecration  to  the 
prophetic  mission,  when  one  solemn  act  was  necessary. 
After  that  the  message  itself  and  its  new  moral  content  set 
the  soul  of  the  prophet  astir.  Not  the  vision  or  its  imagery, 
but  the  new  truth  itself  seizes  him  with  irresistible  force,  so 
that  he  is  carried  away  by  the  divine  power  and  speaks  as 
the  mouthpiece  of  God,  using  lofty  poetic  diction  while  in 
a  state  of  ecstacy.  Hence  he  speaks  of  God  in  the  first  person. 
The  highest  stage  of  all  is  that  where  the  prophet  receives  the 
divine  truth  in  the  form  of  pure  thought  and  with  complete 
self-consciousness.  Therefore  the  Scripture  says  of  Moses 
and  of  no  other,  "The  Lord  spoke  to  Moses  face  to  face,  as 
a  man  speaks  to  another."  ^ 

5.  The  story  of  the  giving  of  the  Law  on  Mount  Sinai  is 
in  reality  the  revelation  of  God  to  the  people  of  Israel  as  part 
of  the  great  world-drama  of  history.  Accordingly,  the  chief 
emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  miraculous  element,  the  descent 
of  the  Lord  to  the  mountain  in  fire  and  storm,  amid  thunder 
and  lightning,  while  the  Tc^t  Words  themselves  were  pro- 

'The  Hebrew  word  for  prophecy  is  passive,  — «i6/  or  hithnabhe\  "to  be 
madt  to  spc.-ik,"  or  "to  bubble  forth,"  — the  Deity  being  the  active  power, 
while  tlie  prophet  is  His  mouthpiece. 

*  Ex.  XXXHI,  II ;  Deut.  XXXIV,  10. 


REVELATION,  PROPHECY,  AND    INSPIRATION        37 

claimed  by  Moses  as  God's  herald.'  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
first  words  of  the  narrative  state  its  purpose,  the  consecration 
of  the  Jewish  people  at  the  outset  of  their  history  to  be  a  nation 
of  prophets  and  priests.*  Therefore  the  rabbis  lay  stress 
upon  the  acceptance  of  the  Law  by  the  people  in  saying: 
"All  that  the  Lord  sayeth  we  shall  do  and  hearken."  '  From 
a  larger  point  of  view,  we  see  here  the  dramatized  form  of  the 
truth  of  Israel's  election  by  divine  Providence  for  its  historic 
religious  mission. 

6.  The  rabbis  ascribed  the  gifts  of  prophecy  to  pagans  as 
well  as  Israelites  at  least  as  late  as  the  erection  of  the  Tab- 
ernacle, after  which  the  Divine  Presence  dwelt  there  in  the 
midst  of  Israoi.*  They  say  that  each  of  the  Jewish  prophets 
was  endowed  with  a  peculiar  spiritual  power  that  corresponded 
with  his  character  and  his  special  training,  t^"*  highest,  of  course, 
being  Moses,  whom  they  called  "the  father  of  the  prophets."  * 

The  medieval  Jewish  thinkers,  following  the  lead  of 
Mohammedan  philosophers  or  theologians,  regard  revelation 
quite  differently,  as  an  inner  process  in  the  mind  of  the  prophet. 
According  to  their  mystical  or  rationalistic  viewpoint,  they 
describe  it  as  the  result  of  the  divine  spirit,  working  upon  the 
soul  either  from  within  or  from  without.  These  two  stand- 
points betray  either  the  Platonic  or  the  Aristotelian  influence." 
Indeed,  the  rabbis  themselves  showed  traces  of  neo-Platonism 

'  Ex.  XIX,  iq;  XX,  19.  »  Kx.  XIX,  1-8. 

'  Shab.  88  a  after  K.\.  XXIV,  7. 

*  Seder  Olam  R.,  I  ;xnd  XXI;  Lev.  Rab.  I,  12-14 ;    B.  B.  15  b. 

'Hag.  13  h;  Sanh.  8g  a;   Lev.  R.  1.  c. 

•See  Schmiedl:  Sliui.  u.  jued.-ambische  RcliRiim^philosophie,  191-192; 
S.  Horowitz:  D.  Prophclologie  i.  d.  jucd.  Religions philosophie;  Sandler:  D 
Problem  d.  Prophetie  i.  d.  jucd.  Religions  philosophie;  J.  E.,  art.  Prophets  am' 
Prophecy;  Emunoth  III,  4;  Cuzari,  I,  95;  TI,  10-12;  Emunali  Ramah,  II, 
S,  i;  Moreh,  II,  32-48;  Vesode  ha  Torah,  VII;  Or  Adonai,  II,  4,  1;  Ikkarim, 
III,  8-12,  17;  Nachmanides  to  Gen.  XVIII,  2;  .\bravanel  to  Gen.  XXI,  27; 
Comp.  Husik,  Hist.  Med.  Jew.  Phil.,  Index  s.  v.  Prophecy;  Enc.  Rel.  Ethics, 
art.  Philosophy  and  Prophecy. 


38 


JEWISH  THEOLOGV 


\i\ 


■  i 
I'' 


when  they  described  the  ecstatic  state  of  the  prophets,  or 
when  they  spoke  of  the  divine  spirit  speaking  through  the 
prophet  as  through  a  vocal  instrument,  or  when  they  made 
distinctions  between  seeing  the  Deity  "in  a  bright  mirror" 
or  "through  a  dark  glass."  » 

The  view  most  remote  from  the  simple  one  of  the  Bible  is 
the  rationalistic  standjwint  of  Maimonides.  who,  following 
altogether  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Arabic  neo-Aristotelians. 
assumed  that  there  were  ditTerent  degrees  of  prophecy,  de- 
pending upon  the  influence  exerted  upon  the  human  intel- 
lect by  the  sphere  of  the  Highest  Intelligence.     He  enumerates 
eleven  such  grades,  of  which  Moses  had  the  highest  rank,  as  he 
entered  into  direct  communication  with  the  supreme  intel- 
lectual .sphere.     Still  bolder  is  his  explanation  of  the  revela- 
tion on  Smai.     He  holds  that  the  first  two  words  were  under- 
stood by  the  people  directly  as  logical  eviilences  of  truth  for 
they  enunciated  the  philosophical  doctrines  of  the  existence 
and  unity  of  God,  whereas  the  other  words  they  understood 
only  as  sounds  without  meaning,  so  that  Moses  had  to  inter- 
pret them.2     In  contrast  to  this  amazing  rationalism  of  Mai- 
monides is  the  view  of  Jehuda  ha  Levi,  who  asserts  that  the 
gift  of  prophecy  became  the  specific  privilege  of  the  descend- 
ants of  Abraham  after  their  consecration  as  God's  chosen 
people  at  Sinai,  and  that  the  holy  soil  of  Palestine  was  as- 
signed to  them  as  the  habitation  best  adapted  to  its  exercise.' 
The  other  attempt  of  some  rationalistic  thinkers  of  the  Middle 
Ages  to  have  a  "sound  created  fur  the  purpose '"»  of  uttering 
the  words  "I  am  the  Lord  thy  God."  rather  than  accepting 
the  anthropomorphic  Deity,  merits  no  consideration  whatever. 
7-    It  IS  an  indisputable  fact  of  history  that  the  Jewish  people 

Ph.10 .  De  Decalog  .  2 . ;  de  Migratione  Abraham!,  7  ;  comp.  I  Corinth.  XIII, 
'  Moreh,  I.  c.  1  ^        •  ■ 

A./  Nibra:  Moreh,  I,  65;  Emunoth,  II,  8;  Cuzari,  I.  89. 


t"' 


REVELATION,  PROPHECY,  AND  INSPIRATION        39 

on  account  of  its  peculiar  religious  bent,  was  predestined  to 
be  the  people  of  revelation.  Its  leading  spirits,  its  prophets 
and  psalmists,  its  law-givers  and  inspired  writers  differ  from 
the  seers,  singers,  and  sages  of  other  nations  by  their  unique 
and  profound  insight  into  the  moral  nature  of  the  Deity.  In 
striking  contrast  is  the  progress  of  thought  in  Greece,  where 
the  awakening  of  the  ethical  consciousness  caused  a  rupture 
between  the  culture  of  the  philosophers  and  the  popular 
religion,  and  led  to  a  final  decay  of  the  political  and  social 
life.  The  prophets  of  Israel,  however,  the  typical  men  of 
genius  of  their  people,  gradually  brought  about  an  advance 
of  popular  religion,  so  that  they  could  finally  present  as  their 
highest  ideal  the  God  of  the  fathers,  and  make  the  knowl- 
edge of  His  will  he  foundation  of  the  law  of  holiness,  by 
which  they  desired  to  regulate  the  entire  conduct  of  man. 
Thus,  religion  was  no  longer  confined  by  the  limits  of  nation- 
ality, but  was  transformed  into  a  spiritual  force  for  all  man- 
kind, to  lead  through  a  revelation  of  the  One  and  Holy  God 
toward  the  highest  morality. 

8.  The  development  of  thought  brought  the  God-seeking 
spirits  to  the  desire  to  know  His  will,  or,  in  Scriptural  language. 
His  ways,  in  order  to  attain  holiness  in  t...  ir  pursuit.  The 
natural  consequence  was  the  gradual  receding  of  the  power  of 
imagination  which  had  made  the  enraptured  seer  behold  God 
Himself  in  visions.  As  the  Deity  rose  more  and  more  above 
the  realm  of  the  visible,  the  newly  conceived  truth  was  real- 
ized as  coming  to  the  sacred  writer  through  the  spirit  of  God 
or  an  angel.  Inspiration  took  the  place  of  revelation.  This, 
however,  still  implies  a  passive  attitude  of  the  soul  carried 
away  by  the  truth  it  receives  from  on  high.  This  supernatural 
element  disappears  gradually  and  passes  over  into  sober,  self- 
conscious  thought,  in  which  the  writer  no  longer  thinks  of 
God  as  the  Ego  speaking  through  him,  but  as  an  outside 
Power  spoken  of  in  the  third  person. 


is&a^%aBKjJM!HEk'^:^^^ipg£aK^£7Jsr^j^H^  y^fae^ggfc  utaigAio:^!^ 


i\ 


n 


.11 


40 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


A  still  lower  degree  of  inspiration  is  represented  by  those 
writings  which  lack  altogether  the  divine  afflatus,  and  to 
which  is  ascribed  a  share  of  the  holy  spirit  only  through  gen- 
eral consensus  of  opinion.  Often  this  imprint  of  the  divine 
is  not  found  in  them  by  the  calm  judgment  of  a  later  gen- 
eration, and  the  exact  basis  for  the  classification  of  such 
writings  among  the  holy  books  is  sometimes  difficult  to  state. 
We  can  only  conclude  that  in  the  course  of  time  they  were 
regarded  as  holy  by  that  very  spirit  which  was  embodied  in 
the  Synagogue  and  its  founders,  "the  Men  of  the  Great 
Synagogue,"  who  in  their  work  of  canonizing  the  Sacred 
Scriptures  were  believed  to  have  been  under  the  influen'-e  of 
the  holy  spirit." 

9.  Except  for  the  five  books  of  Moses,  the  idea  of  a  me- 
chanical inspiration  of  the  Bible  is  quite  foreign  to  Judaism. 
Not  until  the  second  Christian  century  did  the  rabbis 
finally  decide  on  such  questions  as  the  inspiration  of  certain 
books  among  the  Hagiographa  or  even  among  the  Prophets, 
or  whether  certain  books  now  excluded  from  the  canon  were 
not  of  equal  rank  with  the  canonical  ones.^  In  fact,  the  in- 
fluence of  the  holy  spirit  was  for  some  time  ascribed,  not  only 
to  Biblical  writers,  but  also  to  living  masters  of  the  law.' 

>  .\ccordinK  to  the  rabbis,  the  working  of  the  holy  spirit  ceased  with  Haggai, 
Zechariah,  and  Malachi,  who,  with  KEra,  wea-  included  also  among  the  "Men 
of  the  Great  Synagogue."  Sec  Tos.  Sota  XIII,  2;  Seder  Olam  R.  XXX; 
Sanh.  1 1  a.  See  J.  E.,  art.  Synagogue,  Men  of  the  Great;  Holy  Spirit-  In- 
spiration. Comp.  B.  n.  14  b,  IS  a;  Yoma  gb;  Meg.  3a,  7a;  I  Mace.  IV, 46; 
Ps.  LXXIV,  9 ;  Josephus,  Con.  Apion.,  I,  8 ;  Philo  :  Vita  Mosis,  II,  7 ;  Aristeas, 
305-307.  .■\s  to  the  difference  between  the  spirit  of  prophecv  and  the  holy 
spmt,see  Cuzarl,  III,  32-35;  Aforfh,U,  35-37.  The  Esscnes  claimed  the 
holy  spirit  for  their  apocryphal  writings;  see  IV  Esdras  XIV.  ^8-  Book  of 
Wisdom  VII,  27. 

'  On  the  disputes  concerning  canonical  books,  see  Vadayim  HI  5  •  Ab  d 
R.  N  I,  ed.  Schechter,  2-3 ;  Shab.  30  b ;  Meg.  7  a.  Comp.  B.  K.  92  b,  where 
Ben  Sira  is  quoted  as  one  of  the  Hagiographa. 

'See  Tos.  Pes.  I,  27;  IV,  2;  SoU  XIII.  3;  Yer.  Horay.  Ill,  48  c;  Uv. 
K.  XXI,  7. 


It. 


REVELATION,  PROPHECY,  AND  INSPIRATION        41 

The  fact  is  that  divine  influence  cannot  be  measured  by  the 
yardstick  or  the  calendar.  Where  it  is  felt,  it  bursts  forth  as 
from  a  higher  world,  creating  for  itself  its  proper  organs 
and  forms.  The  rabbis  portray  (iod  as  saying  to  Israel, 
"Not  I  in  My  higher  realm,  but  you  with  your  human  needs 
fix  the  form,  the  measure,  the  time,  and  the  mode  of  ex- 
pression for  that  which  is  divine."  ' 

10.  While  Chri>tianity  and  Islam,  its  daughter-religions, 
must  admit  the  existence  of  a  prior  revelation,  Judaism  knows 
of  none.  It  claims  its  own  prophetic  truth  as  the  revelation, 
admits  the  title  Books  of  Revelation  CBible)  only  for  its  own 
sacred  writings,  and  calls  the  Jewish  nation  alone  the  People 
of  Revelation.  The  Church  and  the  Mosque  achieved  great 
things  in  propagating  the  truths  of  the  Sinaitic  revelation 
among  the  nations,  but  added  to  it  no  new  truths  of  an  es- 
sential nature.  Indeed,  they  rather  obscured  the  doctrines 
of  God's  unity  and  holiness.  On  the  other  hand,  the  people 
of  the  Sinaitic  revelation  looked  to  it  with  a  view  of  ever 
revitalizing  the  dead  letter,  thus  evolving  ever  new  rules  of 
life  and  new  ideas,  without  ever  placing  new  and  old  in  op- 
position, as  was  done  by  the  founder  of  the  Church.  Each 
generation  was  to  take  to  heart  the  words  of  Scripture  as  if 
they  had  come  "this  very  day"  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Lord.* 


R.  h.  Sb.  37  a ;  Mak.  22  b. 


« Sifre  Deut.  VI,  4. 


I- 


li 


CHAPTER   VII 
The  Torah  — the  Divine  Instruction 

I.   DurinK  the  Babylonian  Exile  the  prophetic  word  became 
the  source  of  comfort  and  rejuvenation  for  the  Jewish  people 
Now  in  Its  place  Ezra  the  Scribe  made  the  Book  of  the  Law 
of  Moses  the  f)ivot  about  which  the  entire  life  of  the  people 
was  to  revolve.     By  regular  readings  from  it  to  the  assembled 
worshipers,  he   made  it  the  source  of  common   instruction 
Instead  of  the  priestly  Law,  which  was  concerned  only  with 
the  regulation  of  the  ritual  life,  the  Law  became  the  people's 
book  of  Instruction,  a  Torah  for  all  alike.'  while  the  prophetic 
books  were  made  secondary  and  were  employed  by  the  preacher 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  service  as  "words  of  consolation  "^ 
Upon  the  Pentateuch  was  built  up  the  divine  service  of  the 
Synagogue  as  well  as  the  whole  system  of   communal  life 
with  both  its  law  and  ethics.     The  prophets  and  other  sacred 
books  were  looked  upon  only  as  means  of  "opening  up"  or 
illustrating  the  contents  of  the  Torah.    These  other  parts  of 

B.bl.  Theol.  ,    Al,.  Tcs...  Index  s.  v.  Torah;    W.  J.  Beccher  :  Jour.  Bihl.  Lit 

7^-"'  k\  v„r  '  ^^'"■•^  •'^'"''*'  '"  '^"^  "'''  Testament."  For  Torah  as 
U.   see  Neh.  \  HI,  ,     Joshua  I,  7,  and  throughout  the  Pentateuch;  as  moral 

IV,  2;  Jer.  XXXM.  4  f  ;  XXXI.  ,.;  Ps.  XVT,  8;  Prov.  VI,  ...■  VII  ^- 
Guedeman:  Q.rll.:.  G.  ,/.  r„u-rrichls,  at  the  l,eginning;  Claude  Montcfmr;; 
Hihbert  Lecture^:,  iSq2,  p.  ^()^  f. 

KVehemcUha.  which  means  the  .Messianic  hope;   see  Kohut :   Aruch  V,  328 
and  Appen.-iis  Sv- 

4a 


THE  TORA!I  — THE  DIVINE  INSTRUCTION 


43 


the  Mikra  ("the  collection  of  books  for  pubh'c  reading")  were 
declared  to  be  inferior  in  holiness,  so  that,  according  to  the 
Rabbinical  rule,  they  were  not  even  allowed  to  be  put  into 
the  same  scroll  as  the  Pentateuch.'  Moreover,  neither  the 
number,  order,  nor  the  division  of  the  Biblical  books  was 
fixed.  The  Talmud  gives  24.  Josephus  only  22.'^  Tradition 
claims  a  completely  divine  origin  only  for  the  Pentateuch  or 
Torah,  while  the  rabbis  often  point  out  the  human  element  in 
the  other  two  classes  of  the  Biblical  collection.' 

2.  The  traditional  belief  in  the  divine  origin  of  the  Torah 
includes  not  only  every  word,  but  also  the  accepted  inter- 
pretation of  each  letter,  for  both  written  and  oral  law  are 
ascribed  to  the  revelation  to  Moses  on  Mt.  Sinai,  to  be  trans- 
mitted thence  from  generation  to  generation.  Whoever 
denies  the  divine  origin  of  either  the  written  or  the  oral  la\/ 
is  declared  to  be  an  unbeliever  who  has  no  share  in  the  work! 
to  come,  according  to  the  Tunnaitic  code,  and  consequently 
according  to  Maimonides^  also.  But  here  arises  a  question 
of  vital  importance:  What  becomes  of  the  Torah  as  the 
divine  foundation  of  Judaism  under  the  study  of  modern 
times?  Even  conservative  investigators,  such  as  PVankel, 
Graetz,  and  Isaac  Hirsch  Weiss,  not  to  mention  .such  radicals 
as  Zunz  and  Geigcr,  admit  the  gradual  progress  and  growth 
of  this  very  system  of  law,  both  oral  and  written.  And  if 
different  historical  conditions  have  produced  the  development 

'  See  B.  B.  I?  b;  Meg.  Ill,  i  ;  IV,  4 ;  comp.  NW..  2.'  b;  Taan.  qa;  Shab. 
104  a;  .fj/ra  Bchukothai  at  end  ;  Feci.  R.  I,  10;  Tx.  K.  .\XXVIII,  6.  Zunz: 
Gottesd.  Vortr.,  46  f.,  and  art.  Canon  and  liible  in  the  various  cniyeloiHvlias. 
.As  to  Torah  for  the  whole  Bible,  see  Mek.  Shira  i  ;  Sanh.  37  a,  01  b;  .Ab. 
Zar.  17a;  M.K.sa;  comp.  I  Cor.  .\IV,  21 ;  John  X,  34;  XII,  ,54;  XV,  25. 
For  Torah  as  N'omos,  or  Law,  see  II  Mace.  XV,  g. 

^  Bousset,  1.  c,  ii8-i2Q. 

'On  the  divine  orii^in  of  the  Torah,  see  .Sanh.  00a;  Sifni  Kedoshim  8; 
Behar  i ;  Behukoth.ay  8.  ReRardinR  the  mcanini;  of  mctammin  clli  ha  yadayim 
in  the  sense  of  t.iboo  for  the  holy  writinira   spp  Gei"er :   Ursckrift.  p.  i."6. 

♦Sanh.  gg  a;  Maim.  H.  Teshubah  III,  8. 


44 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


*  ■ 


•■  • 


l*.l 


of  the  law  itself,  we  must  assume  a  number  of  human  authors 
in  place  of  a  sinRic  act  of  divine  revelation." 

.\.   But  another  (juestion  of  equal  importance  confronts  us 
here,  the  meaning  of  Torah.     Originally,  no  doubt,  Torah 
signified  the  instruction  given  by  the  priests  on  ritual  or  ju- 
rulical  matters.     Out  of  these  decisions  arose  the  written  laws 
(Torollt),  which  the  priesthiMMl  in  the  course  of  time  collected 
into  codes.     After  a  further  process  of  development  they  ap- 
pearcil  as  the  various  books  of  Moses,  which  were  finally 
united  into  Ihe  Code  or  Torah.    This  Torah  was  the  foun- 
dation of  the  new  Judean  commonwealth,  the  "heritage  of 
the  congregation  of  Jacob."  ^    The  priestly  Torah.  lightly 
regarded  during  the  prophetic  period,  was  exalted  by  post- 
exilic  Judaism,  so  that  the  Sadducean  priesthood  and  their 
successors,  the   rabbis,  considered   strict  observance  ol  the 
legal  form  to  be  the  very  essence  of  religion.     Is  this,  then, 
the  true   nature  of  Judaism  ?     Is  it  really  -  as  Christian 
theologians  have  held  ever  since  the  days  of  Paul,  the  great 
antagonist  of  Judaism  —  mere   nomism,  a  religion  of  law, 
which  demanded  formal  compliance  with  its  statutes  without 
regard  to  their  inner  value?    Or  shall  we  rather  follow  Rabbi 
Simlai,  the  Haggadist,  who  first  enumerated  the  6i^  com- 
mandments of  the  Torah  (mandatory  and  prohibitive),  con- 
sidering that  their  one  aim  is  the  higher  moral  law,  in  that 
they  are  all  summed  up  by  a  few  ethical  principles,  which 
he  finds  in  the  isth  Psalm,  Isaiah  XXXIII,  15;   Micah  VI, 
8 ;  Isaiah  LVT,  i ;  and  Amos  V,  4  ?  » 

4-  All  these  questions  have  but  one  answer,  a  reconciling 
one.  Judaism  has  the  two  factors,  th.-  priest  with  his  regard 
for  the  law  and  the  prophet  with  his  ethical  teaching ;  and 
the  Jewish  Torah  embodies  both  aspects,  law  and  doctrine. 

.X.  'S°^\^°^^"'-  "''"""  ^''"■'"'  ^""'S'  ^'"""'/-  '904,  "The  Four  Ells  of 
ue  Halakah. 

»Deut.XXXin.4.  »Mak..3b. 


w 


THE  TORAH-THE  DIVINE  INSTRUCTION  45 

These  two  elements  became  more  and  more  correlated,  as  the 
different  parts  of  the  Pentateuch  which  embodied  them  were 
molded  together  into  the  one  scroll  of  the  Law.  In  fact,  the 
prophet  Jeremiah,  in  denouncing  the  pricsthiMKi  for  its  neglect 
of  the  principles  of  justice,  and  rebuking  scathingly  the 
people  for  their  wrongdoing,  pointed  to  the  divine  law  of 
righteousness  as  the  one  which  should  be  written  upon  the 
hearts  of  men.'  Likewise,  in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy, 
which  was  the  product  of  joint  activity  by  prophet  and  priest, 
the  Law  was  built  upon  the  highest  moral  principle,  the  love 
of  God  and  man.  In  a  still  larger  sense  the  Pentateuch  as  a 
whole  contains  prii-stly  law  and  universal  religion  inter- 
twined. In  it  the  eternal  verities  of  the  Jewish  faith.  Gml's 
omnipotence,  omniscience,  and  moral  government  of  the  world, 
are  conveyed  in  the  historical  narratives  as  an  introduction 
to  the  law. 

5.  Thus  the  Torah  as  the  expression  of  Judaism  was  never 
limited  to  a  mere  system  of  law.  At  the  outset  it  served  as 
a  book  of  instruction  concerning  God  and  the  world  and 
became  ever  richer  as  a  source  of  knowledge  and  speculation, 
because  all  knowledge  from  other  sources  was  brought  into 
relation  with  it  through  new  modes  of  interpretation.  Various 
systems  of  philosophy  and  theology  were  built  upon  it.  Nay 
more,  the  Torah  became  divine  Wisdom  itself,^  the  architect 
of  the  Creator,  the  beginning  and  end  of  creation.' 

While  the  term  Torah  thus  received  an  increasingly  compre- 
hensive meaning,  the  rabbis,  as  exponents  of  orthodox  Juda- 
ism, came  to  consider  the  Pentateuch  as  the  only  book  of  reve- 

'  Jerem.  XXXI,  32. 

'Comp.  Schechter,  Aspects,  p.  120-136,  and  see  Ikn  Sira,  XXIV.  8-23; 
XVII,  11;  Baruch  III,  3S  f . ;  Apoc.  Hanich  XXXVIII,  4;  XLIV,  16;  IV 
EsdrasVIII,  12;  IX.  37;  Philo:  Vila  Mosis,  II,  3,9;  Gen.  R.  I ;  P  d  R 
E!.  III. 

'  This  ajX)theosis  of  the  Torah  is  put  in.  -a  wrons  lisht  bv  UVher  Ju.'4i:-'hi 
Tkeologu,  157  f.,  197,  but  is  stated  better  in  Bousset,  1.  c,  136-142. 


i^j"j>x  '•'^'wz\->,":'iir^RjGS'^Kt£:- 


^KIA 


lanEw 


*{iJL'j?yiSh> 


46 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


I  ♦ 


1  ' 


I 


11 


H    9 


lation,  every  letter  of  whii  h  cmanati<l  dirt-i  ily  from  God.  The 
other  l»(K,ks  of  the  Bible  they  regartled  as  due  only  to  the 
iniiwelliriK  of  the  holy  s|)irit,  or  to  the  preneme  of  iiwl,  the 
Shikinah.  Moreover,  they  held  that  ihatiKes  by  the  pniphels 
and  other  saired  writers  were  anti»ipate<l,  in  essentials,  in 
the  Torah  itself,  and  were  therefore  only  its  expansions  and 
interpretations.  AaordinKly.  they  are  fre.|ijeiilly  cjuoted  as 
parts  of  the  Torah  or  as  "words  of  tradition."  ' 

6.  Orthodox  Judaism,  then,  accepted  as  a  fundamental 
doctrine  the  view  that  both  the  Mosaic  Uw  and  its  Rabbinical 
interpretation  were  j,Mven  by  (kmI  to  Moses  on  Mt.  Sinai. 
This  viewpoint  is  contradicted  by  all  our  knowledge  and  our 
whole  mode  of  thinking,  and  thus  both  our  historical  and 
religious  consciousness  constrain  us  to  take  the  |H)sition  of 
the  prophets.  To  them  and  to  us  the  real  Torah  is  the  un- 
written moral  law  which  underlies  the  precepts  of  both  the 
written  law  and  its  oral  interpretatiim.  From  this  |)oint  of 
view,  Moses,  as  the  first  of  the  |)rophets,  becomes  the  first 
mediator  of  the  divine  legislation,  and  the  original  Decalogue 
is  seen  to  be  the  starting  point  of  a  long  process  of  develop- 
ment, from  which  grew  the  laws  of  righteousness  and  holiness 
that  were  to  rule  the  life  of  Israel  and  of  mankind. ^ 

7.  The  time  of  com[)ositl(m  of  the  various  parts  of  the 
Pentateuch,  including  the  Decalogue,  must  be  decided  by 
indepemlent  (ritical  and  historical  research.  It  is  sufficient 
for  us  to  know  that  since  the  time  of  Ezra  the  foundation  of 

'  Dihn-  KMahih,  R.  h.  Sh.  7  a,  ig  a;  Ver.  IlalU  1,  S7  b;  see  Levy,  W.  B., 
s.  V.  Kahhiilah. 

•The  fuTson.ility  of  M„scs  w;is  .it  first  cxaltcil  to  almost  superhuman 
height:  n:v  Ben  Sira,XlX,  2:  ,\s<timptw  .l/,»,s(v,  I,  14;  XI,  i();  I'hilo :  ViUi 
A/yj/j,  III,3q;  Jos.ptius :  .l«//9»»7/ff,  IV,  .32  b ;  IJousset.  1.  c,  i^of.  Incontrast 
to  the  Church  view  of  Jesus  the  ruLbis  later  emphaszed  the  human  frailties 
of  Moses:  "Never  did  divine  majesty  descend  to  the  habitations  of  mortal 
man,  nor  did  ever  a  mortal  man  such  as  Moses  and  Elijah  ascend  to  heaven, 
the  dwciiiiig-piace  of  God,"  taught  Rabbi  Joic  (3uk.  5  a). 


It" 


f:»f|.l 


-3-10:^^  "h 


TIIK  TORMI-niK   niVIN'K   rNSTRlC  TION  47 

Ju«lai-«m  has  bcfn  the  o)m|)leU-.l  T.)rah,  with  iu  twof«.l(| 
a.HiHH  t  as  law  an<l  as  doftrine.  As  /</«•  it  c(»ii!riluni.|  (<•  the 
marvi-lous  rndurante  ami  rt«*iHtanie  ..f  tfu-  Jiwi^h  |Moplo, 
inasmuch  as  it  imbued  fhom  with  the  prouil  ton^ciousnrsH  of 
posHosiriK'  a  law  sujHrior  to  that  of  other  nations,  onr  which 
would  tmiurt'  as  I.^k  as  h.avtn  and  earth.'  I'urthormorr,  it 
fHTnuMtcd  Judaism  with  a  k«'cn  smse  of  duty  and  imprintH 
the  ideal  of  holiness  ufHrn  ih-  whole  «.f  life.  At  the  same 
time  it  Kave  rise  also  to  ritualistic  piety,  whi(  h.  while  tena- 
ciously clinninK  to  the  traditicmal  practice  of  the  law.  fos- 
tered hair-splittinK  casuistry  and  caused  the  |)etrifa(  tion  of  re- 
liKion  in  the  c.Mlilied  Ilalakah.  As  doctrine  it  im|)ressed  its 
ethical  and  humane  idealism  n\M>\\  the  jH-ople.  lifting'  them 
fur  above  the  narrow  confmes  of  nationality,  and  making 
them  a  nation  of  thinkers.  Hence  their  easemess  for  their 
mission  to  impart  the  wisdom  stored  in  their  writinps  to  all 
humanity  as  its  highest  boon  and  the  very  essence  «)f  divine 
wisdom. 

'Sec  Dcut.  IV,  6  8;  Jcr.  XXXI,  J4-J5 ;  Philo:    Vita  Mosh,  II,  14;  Jo- 
scphus    A^cn,  II,  l^^. 


J^f-    JK 


«« 


i^'ak;*.^,'. 


11 


mi 


riiAiTKR  viir 

(idd's  Covknant 

I.   Judaism  has  one  s|KHili(  tt'rm  for  rtliKion,  representing 
the  moral  relation   lutwirn   (mhI  an<i   man.  namely,  Berilh, 
iHHfnant.     Tht-  covenant   was  lomludnl    hy  (iod  with  tht- 
patriarchs  and  with  Israel  l>y  means  of  sa- rifuial  UUhhI,  ac- 
cording to  the  primitive  »  ustom  hy  whi.  h  tribes  «)r  individuals 
became  "blo<Ml   brothers,"  wlu-n   they  were  both   sprinkliil 
with  the  sat  riluial  I)I«hmI  or  both  drank  of  it  '     '|'h«-  tirst  cov- 
enant of  (Joil  was  made  after  the  flood,  with  Noah  as  the  rep- 
resentative of  mankind  ;   it  was  intemled  to  assure   him  and 
all  coming  generations  of  the  |K-rpetual  njaintenance  of   the 
natural  order  without  liiicrruption  by  IIoimI.  and  at  the  same 
time  U)  demand  of  all  m.inki'id  the  ol)>;erv.ince  of  c  ertain  laws 
such  as  not  to  she<l.  or  eat,  blood.     Here  at  the  very  be^iiminK 
of  history  religion  is  taken  as  the  universal  basis  of  human 
morality,  s«)  develo|.iiit,'  at  the  outset  the  fundamental  prin- 
ci[)le  of  Judaism  that  it  rests  u|w»n  a  religion  of  humanity, 
which  it  desires  tu  .>tal)li>h  in  all  purity.     As  the  universal 
idea  of  man  forms  thus  its  beginning,  so  Judaism  will  attain 
its  final  p)a!  only  in  a  divine  covenant  comprising  all  hu- 
manity.    Hoth    the   rabbis  and  the  Hellenistic  writers  con- 
sider the  covenant  of  Xoah  with  its  so-called  N«)ahili<-  com- 
mandments as  unwritten  laws  of  humanity.     In  fatt,  fh.-y 
are  referred  to  .\ilam  also,  so  that   religion  apncars  in  its 

'  Sec  Herodotus,  III,  8;  IV,  70;  Jcr.  XXIV,  i.S;  H  Vhy  Triimt-ull ;  Tl,r 
Blood  Covenant,  New  York.  1885;  Kraetschmar  D  n!,mlrnnrs:r:!,,ns  i  A. 
Tu:.,  iSyO,  J.  E.  dud  Liiiyti.  of  Rci.  and  Kthi(...  art.  Covenant. 

48 


.jiiMr:i[Kw*./«^«7y£j/ijr^  »M*nA.\^miiamr 


GODS  CtniNANT 


49 


tuence  m  nc  thing  cUc  than  a  covenant  of  God  with  all 
mankind  ' 

i.  AtconiinKly.  Judaism  i-»  a  ipcc  iai  ba^ii  of  relationship 
hrtwwn  (hmI  .u.  I  Israel  Far  from  hujht  .t-ding  the  ui.ivrr%d 
covenant  with  N'oai..  or  »onhnin«  it  to  the  Jewish  {H'o|»le, 
this  covenant  aims  (o  rerlaim  all  memlxrs  of  the  himia.i 
family  for  the  wider  lov  -^int  from  whiih  they  have  relapsed. 
(Jod  (hose  for  thi-,  puriM.se  Abraham  as  the  one  who  was 
faithful  to  His  moral  law.  ami  made  a  ^IHHial  covenant  with 
him  for  all  his  .les^rndants.  that  they  mi«ht  foster  justice 
and  riKhteousr'css.  at  lirst  within  the  narrow  sphere  of  the 
nation,  and  then  in  ever  widening  circles  of  humanity* 
Vet  the  covenant  with  Abraham  was  «)nly  the  precursor  of 
the  covenant  concluded  with  Israel  thr.)UKh  Moses  on  Mt. 
Sinai,  by  whi(  h  the  Ji-wish  people  were  consrc  rated  to  be  the 
eternal  guardians  of  the  divine  covenant  with  mankind,  until 
the  time  when  it  shall  encompass  all  the  naticms.' 

?.  In  this  covenant  of  Sinai,  referred  to  by  the  jirophet 
Klijuh,  an<l  afterwani  by  many  others,  the  free  moral  re- 
lationship of  man  to  G(k1  is  brought  out ;  this  forms  the 
characteristic  feature  of  a  revealed  religion  in  contradistinc- 
tion to  natural  religion.  In  [)aganism  the  Deity  formed  an  in- 
separable part  of  the  nation  itself;  but  through  the  covenant 
G.mI  became  a  free  moral  power,  appealing  for  allegiance  to 
the  spiritual  nature  of  man.  This  i.lea  of  the  covenant  sug- 
gests to  the  prophet  Hosea  the  analogy  with  the  < oiijui^al 
relation.'  a  concepti<.n  of  love  and  loyalty  which  became 
tyi)ical  of  the  tender  relation  of  (Jod  ti.  Israel  through  the 
centuries.     In  days  of  direst  woe  Jeremiah  and  the  book  of 

■Sec  (Icn.  I\.  I  ,7;  r,s.  Ah.  Zar  VIII  4;  San  ^'.  a ;  (..„.  R.  XVI 
XXIV  ;  JulilliisM,  10  f  ;   H.riiaVH    (;,<., \l,l,   \    2^'(     -.f  •   [J    -,    ^^ 

M;.-n   XV.  ,,S;   XVII,  ;f.;  XVIII.  ,0;   I-ev   XXVI.'4/;*Jui.i'kTsl',  s.. 

'Kx  XIX,  ,,  XXIV,  6-,S;  XXXIV,  .S,  lu-ut  IV  V,  XXMII  XXIX- 
Comp.  I  KinKs  >  1.  ,0,  14;  Jcr.  XI,  XXX'.  XXXIV.  n;  Ezek.  XVI- 
"^''  "•  '  Hos.  11,  lA-io. 


so 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


m 


•h 


i 


m 


i 
if  I 


Deuteronomy  invested  this  covenant  with  the  character  of 
indestructibih-ty  and  inviolability.'  Go<r.s  covenant  with 
Israel  is  everlasting  like  that  with  the  heaven  and  the  earth ; 
it  is  ever  to  be  renewed  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  but  never 
to  be  replaced  by  a  new  covenant.  Upon  this  eternal  renewal 
of  the  covenant  with  God  rests  the  unique  history  of  Judaism, 
Its  wondrous  preservation  and  regeneration  throughout  the 
age:>.  Paul's  doctrine  of  a  new  covenant  to  renlace  the  old' 
conflicts  with  the  very  idea  of  the  covenant,  and 'even  with  the 
words  of  Jeremiah. 

4-   The  Israelitish  nation  inherited  from  Abraham,  accoro- 
mg  to  the  priestly  Code,  the  rite  of  circumcision  as  a  "sign  of 
the  covenant,"''  but  under  the  prophetic  influence,  with  its 
loathing  of  all  sacrificial  blood,  the  Sabbath  was  place-^  in  the 
fore<,'round   as   "the  sign    between   Gtxl   and    Israel.'^     In 
ancient    Israel  and   in   the  Judean  commonwealth  the  Abra- 
hamitic  rite   formed    the  initiation  into    the  nationality  for 
aliens  and  sla\  es,  by  which  they  were  made  full-fledged  Jews 
With  the  dispersion  of  the  Jewish  people  over  the  glebe   and 
the  mfluence  of  Hellenism,  Judaism  created  a  propaganda  in 
favor  of  a  world-wide  religion  of  "God-fearing"  men  pledged 
to  the  observance  of  the  Noahitic  or  humanitarian  laws 
Rabbm.sm  in  Palestine  called  such  a  one  Ger  Toshab  -  so- 
journer, or  semi-proselyte ;  while  the  full  proselyte  who  ac- 
cepted the  Abrahamitic  rite  was  called  Ger  Zcdek,  or  proselyte 
of  righteousness.^     Not  only  the  Hellenistic  writings  but  al'^o 
the  Psalms,  the  liturgy,  and  the  older  Rabbinical  literature 

'Jer.  XXXI,  .,0-32.  ,4-,,;  XXXIII,  2s;   Dcut.  XXfX    14 

.n.«;;'i:,"s.''""""' '  '•  ""■  '"■  '^^ '  ^■'"  •^■-  '■-  ■■^'»"  '^^". 

'Gen.  XVn,  u. 

Mek't?x''xiV-"/h'   ^''T'^^^"',^'''^':  J-f^V.o;  Isa.  LVI,  4-6.    See 
h.  S.,i?h  ;.  "        "'"^''"'-^'^y  »'^>'^v^-^'n  K-  i:iie^er  an.i  k.  Akiba,  whether 

the  Sabbath  or  crcumosion  was  the  essential  siKn  of  the  covenant. 
Ker.  9 a;  \eb.  45-48  and  see  Chapter  LVI  below. 


m^.  ^f^mM^^i^mfmsfimi^imm 


GOD'S   COVENANT 


s« 


Ru-c  cvulcnce  of  such  a  propaRanda,'  but  it  may  be  traced 
back  as  far  as  Deutero- Isaiah,  during  the  reign  of  Cyrus.  His 
outlook  toward  a  Jewish  religion  which  should  beat  the  same 
time  a  religion  of  all  the  world,  is  evident  when  he  calls  Israel 
"a  mediator  of  tlie  covenant  between  God  and  the  nations," 
:i  "light  to  the  peoples,"  -a  regenerator  of  humanicv.' ' 

5.   This  hope  of  a  universal  religion,  which  rings  through 
the  Psalms,  the  Wisdom  books  and  the  Hellenistic  literature, 
was  soon  destined  to  grow  faint.     The  perils  of  Judaism  in 
Its  great  struggles  with  the  Syrian  and  Roman  empires  made 
for  intense  nationalism,  and  the  Jewish  (ovenant  shared  this 
tendency.     The  early  Christian  Church,  the  successor  of  the 
missionary  activity  of  Hellenistic  Judaism,  labored   also  at 
hrst  for  the  Xoahitic  covenant.^     Pauline  Christianitv.  how- 
ever, with  a  view  to  tearing  down  the  barrier  betwJen  Jew 
and  Gentile,  proclaimed  a  new  covenant,  who.se  central  idea 
i.s  belief  in  the  atoning  power  of  the  crucified  son  of   God.< 
Indeed,  one  medieval    Rabbinical    authoritv  holds   that  we 
are  to  regard  Christians  as  semi-proselytes,  as  they  practically 
observe  the  Noahitic  laws  of  humanity.-' 

6.  Progressive  Judaism  of  our  own  time  has  the  great  task 
of  re-emphasizing  Israel's  w-.rld-mission  and  of  reclaiming 
for  Judaism  its  place  as  the  priesthood  of  humanity  It  is 
to  proclaim  anew  the  prophetic  idea  of  (Jod's  covenant  with 
humanity,  whose  force  had  been  lost,  owing  to  inner  and 
outer  oljstacles.  Israel,  as  the  people  of  the  covenant,  aims 
to  unite  all  nations  and  classes  of  men  in  the  divine  covenant. 
It  must  outlast  all  other  religions  in  its  certainty  that  ulti- 
mately there  can  be  but  the  one  religion,  uniting  God  and 
man  by  a  single  bond.^ 

'Ps.  XXM,  28f.;  CXV,  n;  (XVIII,  4;   I.   I.VI  r, 

'  Isaiah  Xl.IX,  6-8.  ,.  .v,„  x\-,  ,0.  2q 

*See  J.  h.,  art.  Saul  of  Tarsus;   Km-.  Ril.  Kth.  art.  I'aul 

"  Naac  ben  Sheslu'th  :   K....„onsa.  ,  .g.     Comp.  J.  i:.,  art.  Christianity. 

' See  further,  Chapter  XLIX. 


J 


W^M 


I  « ) 


I;, 


I  ■♦.! 


p0 


I 

( 

i 
I 


»' 


5.    JZTE  /Z?£yl   OF  GOD  IN  JUDAISM 


CHAPTER  IX 
God  and  the  Gods 

I.  Judaism  centers  upon  its  sublime  and  simple  concep- 
tion of  God.  This  lifts  it  above  all  other  religions  and 
satisfies  in  unique  measure  the  longing  for  truth  and  inner 
peace  amidst  the  futility  and  incessant  changes  of  earthly 
existence.  This  very  conception  of  God  is  in  striking  contrast 
to  that  of  most  other  religions.  The  God  of  Judaism  is  not 
one  god  among  many,  nor  one  of  many  powers  of  life,  but  is 
the  One  ?nd  holy  God  beyond  all  comparison.  In  Him  is 
concentrated  all  power  and  the  essence  of  all  things ;  He  is 
the  Author  of  all  existence,  the  Ruler  of  life,  who  lays  down  the 
laws  by  which  man  shall  live.  As  the  prophet  says  to  the 
heathen  world:  "The  gods  that  have  not  made  the  heavens 
and  the  earth,  these  shall  perish  from  the  earth  and  from  under 
the  heavens.  ...  Not  like  these  is  the  portion  of  Jacob ; 
for  He  is  the  Former  of  all  things.  .  .  .  The  Lord  is  the  true 
God  ;  He  is  the  living  God  and  the  everlasting  King ;  at  His 
wrath  the  earth  trembleth,  and  the  nations  are  not  able  to 
abide  His  indignation."  ' 

2.  This  lofty  conception  of  the  Deity  forms  the  essence  of 
Judaism  and  was  its  shield  and  buckl.-r  in  if^  lifelong  contest 
with  the  varying  forms  of  heathenism.  From  the  very  first 
the  God  of  Judaism  declared  war  against  them  all,  whether  at 

'  Jer.  X,  II ;   i6  and  lo. 
Si 


GOD  AND  THE  GODS 


53 


any  special  time  the  prevailing  form  was  the  worship  of  many 
gods,  or  the  worship  of  God  in  the  shape  of  man.  the  per- 
version of  the  purity  of  God  by  sensual  concepts,  or  the  di- 
vision of  His  unity  into  different  parts  or  personalities.  The 
Talmudic  saying  is  most  striking:  "From  Sinai,  the  Mount 
of  revelation  of  the  only  God,  there  came  forth  Sinah,  the 
hostility  of  the  nations  toward  the  Jew  as  the  banner-bearer 
of  the  pure  idea  of  God."  '  Just  as  day  and  night  form  a 
natural  contrast,  divinely  ordained,  so  do  the  monotheism  of 
Israel  and  the  polytheism  of  the  nations  constitute  a  spiritual 
contrast  which  can  never  be  reconciled. 

3-   The  pagan  gods,  anti  to  some  extent  the  triune  God  of 
the  Christian  Church,  semi-pagan  in  origin  also,  are  the  out- 
come of  the  human  spirit's  going  astray  in  its  search  for  God. 
Instead  of  leading  man  upwards  to  an  ideal  which  will  encom- 
pass all  material  and  moral  life  and  lift  it  to  the  highest  stage  of 
holiness,  paganism  led  to  depravity  and  discord.     The  un- 
relenting zeal  displayed  by  prophet  and  law-giver  against 
idolatry  had  its  chief  cause  in  the  immoral  and  inhuman  prac- 
tices of  the  pagan  nation.s -Canaan,  Egypt,  Assyria,  and 
Babylon  —  in  the  worship  of  their  deities.^    The  deification  of 
the  forces  of  nature  brutalized  the  moral  st.ise  of  the  pagan 
world ;  no  vice  seemed  too  horrible,  no  sacrifice  too  atrocious 
for  their  cults.    Baal,  or  Moloch,  the  god  of  heaven,  de- 
manded in  times  of  distress  the  sacrifice  of  a  son  by  the 
father.    Astartc.    the   goddess   of    fecunditv,    required    the 
"hallowing"  of  life's  origin,  and  this  was  done  by  the  most 
terrible  of  sexual  orgies.     Such  abominations  exerted  their  se- 
ductive influence  upon  the  shepherd  tribes  of  Israel  in  their 
new  home  in  Canaan,  and  thus  aroused  the  fiercest  indignation 
of  prophet  and  law-pvcr,  who  hurled  their  vials  of  wrath 
against  those  shocking  rites,  those  lewd  idols,  and  those  who 

>  Shab.  8q  b. 

»Lev.  XVIII,  2,  2  7  f.,  Xura.  XXV",  i-^-  Hos.  IV,  lo;  V,  4. 


?4 


JEWISH  THKOLOGY 


\i 


V 


IV't 


fa 


I  i 


"whored  after  them."'  If  Israel  was  to  be  trained  to  be 
the  priest  [u'ople  of  the  Only  One  in  suih  an  environment, 
tolerance  of  such  praetiees  was  out  of  the  question.  Thus  in 
the  Sinaitic  law  (iiwl  is  spoken  of  as  "  the  jealous  (Jod  "  -  who 
punishes  unrelentingly  every  violation  of  IIjs  laws  of  purity 
and  holiness. 

4.  The  same  sharp  contrast  of  Jewish  ethical  and  spiritual 
monotheism  remained  also  when  it  came  in  contact  with  the 
Grieco-Syrlan  an«l  Roman  culture.  Here,  too,  the  myths 
and  customs  of  the  cult  and  the  i>opular  relijj;ion  offended  by 
their  gross  sensuality  the  chaste  spirit  of  the  Jewish  people. 
Indeed,  these  were  all  the  more  dangerous  to  the  purity  of 
social  life,  as  they  were  garbed  with  the  alluring  beauty  of 
art  and  philosophy.''  The  Jew  then  felt  all  the  more  the 
imperative  duty  to  draw  a  sharp  line  of  demarcation  between 
Judaism  with  its  chaste  and  imageless  worship  and  the  las- 
civious, immoral  life  of  paganism. 

5.  This  wide  gulf  which  yawned  between  Israel's  One  and 
holy  God  and  the  divinities  of  the  nations  was  not  bridged 
over  by  the  Christian  (!hurch  when  it  appeared  on  the  stage 
of  history  and  obtained  world -dominion.  For  Christianity 
in  its  turn  succec<led  by  again  dragging  the  Deity  into  the 
Vvorld  of  the  senses,  adopting  the  pagan  myths  of  the  birth 
and  death  of  the  gods,  and  sanctioning  image  worship.  In 
this  way  it  actually  created  a  Christian  plurality  of  gods  in 
place  of  the  Graeco-Roman  pantheon;  indeed,  it  presented  a 
divine  family  after  the  model  of  the  Egyptian  and  Babylonian 
religions,^  and  thus  pushed  the  ever-living  God  and  Father  of 
mankind  into  the  background.     This  tendency  has  never  been 

'  N'um.  XV.  Ml  Fx.  XXITI.  24;  Ocut.  XX,  ;«;  Sanh.  XII.  5;  X.  4-6; 
Ab.  Zar.  ll  IV;  Sanh.  106  a:  'Ihrad's  Cnxl  hales  lewdness." 

»Kx.  XX,  s;   IVut.  IV,  24;   VI.  i^. 

'SccPhilo:  Do  Ilumanitate  ;  n.Hl!in'.;er  :  Ilriiknthum  u.  Judenlhum,b9,2, 
700  f. ;   I.  11.  Wii^s  \    nor  Dor  ur  Dorcsfttii;  II,  ig  f 

*  -See  j.  K..  art.  Christianitv. 


Ill, 


r' 


COD  WD  TirE  GODS 


55 


explained  away,  t-vt-n  by  the  attemi)ts  of  certain  hiKli-miiided 
thinkiTs  among  the  Chunh  father^.  Judaism,  however,  in- 
sists, as  ever,  upon  the  words  of  the  Deealogue  which  con- 
demn all  attem|)ts  to  <ie|)irt  the  Deity  in  human  or  sensual 
form,  and  through  all  its  teachings  there  is  echoed  forth  the 
voice  of  Him  who  si)oke  through  the  ,->eer  of  the  Kxile:  "I 
am  the  Lord,  that  is  My  name,  and  My  glory  will  I  not  give 
to  another,  n-  ither  My  pr.ii>e  to  graven  images."  ' 

6.  When  Moses  came  to  Pharaoh  saying,  "Thus  speaketh 
JHVn  the  (iod  of  Israel,  send  off  My  people  that  they  may 
serve  Me,"  Pharaoh  so  the  Midrash  tells  -took  his  list 
of  deities  to  hand,  looked  it  over,  and  said,  "  Behold,  here  are 
enumerated  the  gods  of  the  nations,  hut  I  cannot  find  thy  God 
among  them."  To  this  Moses  replied,  "All  the  gods  known 
and  familiar  to  thee  are  mortal,  as  thou  art ;  they  die,  and 
their  tomh  is  shown.  The  Gofl  of  Israel  has  nothing  in  com- 
mon with  them.  He  is  the  living,  true,  and  eternal  (iod  who 
created  heaven  and  earth  ;  no  people  can  withstand  His  wrath. "- 
This  passage  states  strikingly  the  difference  between  the  God 
of  Judaism  and  the  gods  of  heathendom.  The  latter  are  but 
deified  powers  of  nature,  and  being  parts  of  the  world,  them- 
selves at  one  with  nature,  they  are  subject  to  the  power  of 
time  and  fate.  Israel's  Go<l  is  enthroned  above  the  world 
as  its  moral  and  spiritual  Ruler,  the  only  Being  whom  wc  can 
conceive  as  self-e.\istent.  as  indivisible  as  truth  itself. 

7.  As  long  as  the  pagan  conception  i)revailed.  by  which 
the  world  was  divided  into  many  divine  powers,  there  could 
be  no  conception  of  the  idea  of  a  moral  government  of  the  uni- 
verse, of  an  all  encompassing  purjujse  of  life.     Consequently 

'  Ki.  Xl.ir.  S.  .Scripture  alw.-iys  cmph.isizLS  the  contrast  l)etwccn  l-r:ul's 
Cod  and  the  heatnen  t'ods.  See  Vx.  XII  1:;  X\',  11;  XX'IFI,  11;  Deul. 
X,  17;  .ily.)  in  the  pioplicts,  I>a.  .\1,;  .XI.IW  „;  Jcr.  X;  aid  the  Psalms, 
XC\I,  t'XV,  (AXXV.  .\l)Si)lute  monotheism  was  a  slow  grcwth  from  this 
basis. 

■  Sec  IL\.  K.  \  ,  i'6. 


56 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


I  ■'.'  I 


the  great  thinkers  and  moralists  of  heathendom  were  forced 
to  deny  the  deities,  before  they  could  assert  either  the  unity  of 
the  cosmos  or  a  design  in  life.    On  the  other  hand,  it  was  pre- 
cisely this  recgnition  of  the  moral  nature  of  God,  as  manifested 
both  ,n  human  life  and  in  the  cosmic  sphere,  which  brought 
the  Jewish  prophets  and  sages  to  their  pure  monotheism,  in 
which  they  will  ulUmately  be  met  by  the  great  thinkers  of 
all  lands  and  ages.     The  unity  of  God  brings  harmony  into 
the  intellectual  and  moral  world  ;  the  division  of  the  godhead 
into  diJTerent  powers  or  {jersonalities  leads  to  discord  and 
spiritual  bondage.     Such  is  the  lesson  of  history,  that  in  poly- 
theism,  dualism,  or  trinitarianism  one  of  the  powers  must 
necessarily  limit  or  obscure  another.     In  this  manner  the 
Christian  Trinity  led  mankind  in  many  ways  to  the  lowering 
of  the  supreme  standard  of  truth,  to  an  infringement  on  justice 
and  to  inhumanity  to  other  creeds,  and  therefore  Judaism 
could  regard  it  only  as  a  compromise  with  heathenism. 

8.   Judaism  assumed,  then,  toward  paganism  an  attitude 
of  rigid  exclusion  and  opposition  which  could  easily  be  taken 
for  h(,st,hty.     This  prevailed  especially  in  the  legal  systems 
of  the  Bible  and  the  rabbis,  and  was  intended  primarily  to 
guard  the  monotheistic  belief  from  pagan  pollution  and  to 
keep  It  intact.     Neither  in  the  Deuteronomic  law  nor  in  the 
late  codes  of  Maimonides  and  Joseph  Caro  is  there  any  tol- 
eration for  idolatrous  practices,  for  instruments  of  idol-wor- 
ship   or  for  idolaters.'     This  attitude  gave  the  enemies  of 
the  Jew  sufficient  occasion  for  speaking  of  the  Jewish  God  as 
hating  the  world,  as  if  only  national  conceit  underlay  the 
earnest  rigor  of  Jewish  monotheism. 

9.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  since  the  time  of  the  prophets  Juda- 
ism has  had  no  national  God  in  any  exclusive  sense.  While 
the  Law  insists  upon  the  exclusive  worship  of  the  one  God  of 

lfl!^l"'vT'"'  v''^!'n    '  •    """^    '''    '^^-'"onides:   H.  Akkum,  II-VII; 
Melaktm.  V  I,  4  :    J  nrch  Deck,  CXII  .XLVIII 


2^]effF^niiiBVv' 


■^r"^^- 


GOD  AND  THE  GODS 


57 


Israel,  the  narratives  of  the  beRinninRS  In  the  Bihio  have  a 
different  tenor.     They  take  the  lofty  standpoint   that  the 
heathen   world,  while   worshiping   its   many  divinities,  had 
merely  l.)st  sight  of  the  true  GtHJ  after  whom  the  heart  ever 
longs  and  searches.     This  implies  that  a  kernel  of  true  piety 
underlies  all    the   error   and   delusion   oi    paganism,   which, 
rightly  guided,  will  lead  hack  to  the  G(k1  from  whom  mankind 
had  strayed.     The  Godhead,  divided  into  gods  —  as  is  hinted 
even  in  the  Biblical  name,  Elohim       must  again  become  the 
one  G(k1  of  humanity.     Thus  the  Jew  holds  that  all  worship 
foreshadows  the  search  for  the  true  God.  and  that  all  hu- 
manity shall  at  one  time  acknowleflge  Him  for  whom  they 
have  so  long  been  searching.     Surely  the  Psalms  express,  not 
national   narrowness,   but  ardent  love  for  humanity  when 
they  hail  the  God  of  Israel,  the  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth, 
as  the  world's  great  King,  and  tell  how  He  will  judge  the 
nations  in  justice,  while  the  gods  of  the  nations  will  be  rejected 
as  "vanities."  »     Nor  does  the  divine  service  of  the  Jew  bear 
the  stamp  of  clannishness.     For  more  than  two  thousand 
years  the  central  point  in  the  Synagogue  liturgy  everv  morn- 
ing and  evening  has  been  the  battle-cry,  "Hear,  O  Israel,  the 
Lord  our  God,  the  Lord  is  One."    And  so  docs  the  conclusion 
of  every  service,  the  Alcntt,  the  solemn  prayer  of  adoration, 
voice  the  grand  hope  of  the  Jew  for  the  future,  that  the  time 
may  speedily  come  when  "before  the  kingdom  of  Almighty 
all  idolatry  shall  vanish,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth 
perceive  that  unto  Him  alone  every  knee  must  bend,  and  all 
flesh  recognize  Him  alone  as  God  and  King."* 

•  Ps.  XCVI-XCIX. 

» See  Singer's  Prayerbook,  p.  76-77,  and  J.  E.,  art.  Alenu. 


'^tlSBKBt{^9aaiS&m 


^WMvJWAJi^f^^~^T\W. 


(  IIAPTKR   X 


^ 


n 


The  Namk  of  (Iod 

I.  Primitive  mt-n  attathrd  much  imi)<)rtanc-c  to  names, 
for  to  them  the  name  of  a  thinj,'  indicated  its  nature,  and 
thn)ugh  the  name  one  (ould  obtain  mastery  over  the  thing  or 
person  named.  AceordinKly,  the  nann-  of  (lod  was  con- 
sidered to  be  the  manifestation  of  His  being;  by  invoking  it 
man  could  obtain  some  of  His  [xmir;  and  the  place  where 
that  name  was  called  became  the  seat  of  His  i)resence.  There- 
fore the  name  must  be  treated  with  the  same  reverential  awe 
as  the  Deity  Himself.  None  dare  approach  the  Deity,  nor 
misuse  the  Name.  The  pious  soul  realized  the  nearness  of 
the  Deity  in  hearing  His  name  pronounced.  P'inally.  the 
different  names  of  CkhI  reflect  the  flitTerent  conceptions  of 
Him  which  were  held  in  various  [K-riods.' 

2.  The  Semites  were  not  like  the  Aryan  nations,  who  be- 
held the  essence  of  their  gods  in  the  phenomena  of  nature  such 
as  light,  rain,  thunder,  and  lightning.  —  and  gave  them  cor- 
res[)onding  nrmes  and  titles.  The  more  intense  religious 
emotionalism  of  the  Semites  =  jHTceived  the  (iodhead  rather 
as  a  [>ower  working  from  within,  and  accordingly  gave  it  such 
names  as  F.l  ("the  Mighty  One").  Elo/ia  ur  Pahad  ("the 
Awful  One"),  or  Baal  ("the  Master").  Eloliini.  the  plural 
form  of  Elo/ia,  denoted  originally  the  godhead  as  divided  into 
a  number  of  gods  or  godly  beings,  that  is.  polytheism.     When 

'  Sit  rhfvno'-  Diet.  HiH.,  .irt.  \amcari.|  \anicsnith  Hihli.uraphy ;  Jao.l): 
Im  \amnt  CnH.,  ,•  Hiitmucllfr,  Im  \,im,,i  Jrsi,.  kkj.;,  p.  2^-2-^  The  Xamr  for 
thcI.ord.HTursI.cv.  XXIV,  i.,i6;  Dent  XXVIIf.^S;  V,v\v.kt,  r rsdnift.  :tu  f. 

'Sec  naipli-,,n,  .S7W.  c.  .SVw.  A^,// ■/•,.(;v,,.,s, /,.,  I.  47  ;  177;  Robinson  Smith  : 
RfliRion  of  ll„  .SVw//o.-  Max  .MuclU-r.  CV;,/>v  frum  a  Cirman  llorkshnp,  I, 
330-374- 

58 


TflK   NAME  OF  (lOl) 


59 


it  was  applied  i  GckI,  however,  it  was  Konerally  umlerstootl 
as  a  unity,  referrinR  tu  one  uiKlivided  (;<Klhe;ul,  for  Strip- 
turc  regarded  monotheism  as  original  with  mankind.  While 
this  view  is  contradicted  by  the  xienee  of  comparative  re- 
ligion, still  the  ideal  conception  of  religion,  based  on  the 
universal  consciousness  of  (idd,  i>o>tulates  one  (i(Ml  who  is 
the  aim  of  all  human  searching,  a  fact  which  the  term  Heno- 
theism  fails  t.)  retogni/e.' 

.^  Ft)r  the  patriarchal  age,  the  preliminary  stage  in  the 
development  of  the  Jewish  (;(Ml-idea,  Scripture  gives  a  siK-cial 
name  for  (ItMl,  El  S/unNui  "the  Almighty  (WmI."  This 
probal)ly  has  a  relation  to  Shod,  "storm"  or  "havoc"  and 
"destruction,"  but  was  interpreted  as  suf)reme  Ruler  over  the 
celestial  powers.-  The  name  by  which  Ciod  revealed  Himself 
to  Moses  and  the  prophets  as  the  (iod  of  the  covenant  with 
Israel  is  JHVH  (Jahveh).  This  name  is  inse|)arably  con- 
nected with  the  religious  development  of  Judaism  in  all  its 
loftiness  and  depth.  During  the  period  of  the  Second  Temple 
this  name  wa  declared  too  sacred  for  utterance,  except  by 
the  priests  in  certain  parts  of  the  service,  and  for  myst(  rious 
use  by  specially  initiated  .saints.  Instead,  Adonai  -  "the 
Lord"  — was  substituted  for  it  in  the  Biblical  reading,  a 
usage  which  has  ctrntinued  for  over  two  thousand  years. 
The  meaning  of  the  name  in  pre-Mosaic  times  may  be  inferred 
from  the  fiery  storms  which  accompanied  each  theophany  in 
the  various  Scriptural  passages,  as  well  as  from  the  root 
havah,    which    means    "throw    down"    and    "overthrow.'^ 

'  Scr  J.  I-:.,  .irt.  God.  Comp.  .ilsn  r:n(y(  I.  of  RcliKiDn  uml  Kihic;,  art.  GchI. 
rrimitivc  an'l  HiMual ;  Siimv  of  (J.hI,  Ji  wi-h. 

'(un.  XVII,  II ;  K.X.  \'I,  3,  and  comnicntator-.;  den.  K.  XI.VI.  The 
Hook  of  Job,  where  the  name  Shtiddai  is  ronstantly  w^i-d,  rt  fi  rs  to  tlio  patriarchal 
age. 

'  Kx.  III.  14,  and  commentator-:.  e>pi'..  I)illniann.     Con'p.  art.  Jahwch  in 
Prot.  Rf.-iUnryr  .ip.!".  ("hfynf'-:  ?)i:  !    Hibh-, ; 
etymologies  arc  given. 


6o 


JEUISH  THEOUKiY 


To  the  prophets,  however,  iht-  G<h|  ..f  Sinai.  enthr.)ne(l  amid 
clouds  of  storm  and  lire,  moving  Infon-  IV  people  in  war 
ami  ;m.;uc,  apiH'jirtd  rather  as  thi-  (i.xl  of  the  Covenant,  with- 
out imagf  .>r  form,  una|)proai  hahli-  in  His  holint'^s.  As  the 
oriKinai  mraninK  of  JII\  II  hud  hecoriu  unintrlli«il,|(..  they 
iiiiorpreti-d  thi-  nanu-  as  "the  ivtr  present  Om,"  in  the  sense 
of  IChyrh  us/itr  IMyfli.  "I  .,hall  Im-  whaJever  (•)r  wherever)  I 
am  to  be  •  ;  that  is.  "  I  am  ever  ready  to  help."  Thus  s|K.ke 
G.h|  to  Moses  in  revealing  llis  name  t.)  him  at  the  burninK 
bush.' 

4.  The  prophetir  genius  penetrated  more  and  more  into 
the  nature  of  (mhI.  reeoRni/inj,'  Him  as  the  I\.wer  who  rules 
in  justiie.  merey.  and  holiness.  This  pr.>eess  brought  them 
to  identify  JHVII.  the  (J.kI  of  the  covenant,  with  the  One 
and  only  CmkI  who  overlooks  all  the  world  from  hi.>,  heavenly 
habitation,  and  Kives  it  {)lan  and  purrx)se.  At  the  same  time, 
all  (he  prophets  revert  to  the  covenant  on  Sinai  in  order  to 
proclaim  Israel  as  the  herald  and  witness  of  God  among  the 
nations.  In  fact,  the  G.hI  of  the  covenant  proclaimed  His 
universality  at  the  very  beginning,  in  the  introduction  to  the 
Decalogue:  "Ve  shall  be  Mine  own  peculiar  possession  from 
among  all  peoples,  for  all  the  earth  is  Mine.  And  ye  shall 
be  unto  Me  a  kingdom  of  priests  and  a  holy  nation."'  In 
other  words,  —you  have  th.  special  task  of  mediator  among 
the  nations,  all  of  which  are  under  My  dominion. 

S-  In  the  Wisdom  literature  and  the  Psalms  the  God  of 
the  covenant  is  subordinated  to  the  universality  of  JHVH  as 
Creator  and  Ruler  of  the  world.  In  a  number  of  the  Psalms 
and  in  some  later  writings  the  very  name  JHVH  was  avoided 
probably  on  account  of  its  particularistic  tinge.  It  was 
surrounded  more  and  more  with  a  certain  mystery.  Instead, 
God  as  the  "Lord"  is  impressed  on  the  consciousness  and 
adoration  of  men.  in  all  His  sublimity  and  in  absolute  unity. 
»Ei.  Ill,  14.  'Ex.  XIX,  5,6. 


IJ 


THE  NAME  OF  GOD 


6i 


The  "Name"  ( ontlnucs  its  sirparatc  existrnce  only  in  the 
mystic  lore.  The  name  Jehmuh,  however,  has  no  place  what- 
soever in  Judaism.  It  is  due  simply  t«)  a  nuHreadirjg  of  the 
Vowel  signs  that  reft  r  t>  the  word  Adonui,  ami  has  been 
erroneously  ado|)ted  in  the  Christian  literature  since  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  ' 

6.  Perhaps  tli»>  most  imjKJrtant  prwess  of  spiritualization 
which  the  idta  «)f  (iinl  underwent  in  the  minds  of  the  Jewish 
IH-opIe  was  made  when  the  name  JHVH  as  ihe  projK-r  name  of 
the  G»k1  of  the  covenant  was  given  u{)  and  replaced  by  Adonai 
—  "the  Lord."  As  long  a^  the  G«kI  of  Israel,  like  other 
deities,  had  His  propel  name,  he  was  practically  one  of  thern, 
however  sup<rior  in  moral  worth.  As  s<x)n  as  Ho  became 
the  Lord,  that  is,  the  only  real  Ciod  over  all  the  world,  a  dis- 
tinctive proper  noun  was  out  ctf  place,  ff.-nceforth  the 
name  was  invested  with  a  my-terious  and  magii  character. 
It  became  ineffable,  at  least  tt  the  jK-ople  at  large,  and  its 
pronunciation  sinful,  cxtcpt  by  the  priests  in  the  liturgy. 
In  fact,  the  law  was  interpr  ted  so  as  directly  to  forbid  this 
utterance.'  Thus  JHVH  is  no  longer  the  national  God  of 
Israel.  The  Talmud  guards  against  the  very  suspicion  of  a 
"Judaized  God"  by  insisting  that  every  benediction  to  Him  as 
"God  the  Lord"  must  add  "  King  of  the  Universe"  rather  than 
the  formula  of  the  Psalms,  "God  of  Israel.  ' ' 

7.  The  MiHrash  makes  a  significant  comment  on  the  words 
of  the  Shcma:  "Why  do  the  words,  'the  Lord  is  our  GchI' 
precede  the  worcN,  'the  Lord  is  One'?  Does  not  the  par- 
ticularism of  the  former  conll  I  with  the  univer.s.dism  of  the 
latter  sentence  ?  No.  The  I  .rnit  r  expresses  the  Idea  that  the 
Lord  is  'our  God'  just  so  ar  as  His  name  is  more  intertwined 


11 
'  I 
I 


■  See  Prot.  Enc,  art.  Jihvch,  p.  5 ^o  f. 
*  See  J.  E.,  art   .\donai ;   H-iusset,  I.  c,  35 ^  f 
Bfr  4.0  b.    On  the  illcg-  i  "Judakirurig  Jc*  Guttcs'DcgriSi,"  icc  Webcf, 
L  c,  148-158. 


6i 


jKWisii  tiik()uk;y 


'X 


,i' 


with  «»ur  hisiory  than  vith  th.it  of  any  Dthrr  natitin,  and 
that  wf  ha\T  ihf  ^n- itti  <i!»Ii{;.ition  a-*  Mi-*  rhtmiii  |m<ij>!c. 
VVhiTfViT  Siripiuri'  >|M.ik-.  »l  l\w  (hmI  uf  hr.n  I.  it  .lots  nut 
int«'fi(l  to  limit  Hint  as  the  uiiivei!«il  (iiHl,  hut  to  tinj>ha/.i/c 
iHrail's  siKHi.il  iluty  a^  His  ;)rifst  jHopK  "  ' 

H.  I.ikrwisf  is  tho  liturKiial  naint-  "(itx!  «»f  our  fathers" 
far  from  bfiiijj  a  iiaii">n.iliNtic  liinitatiui;  On  the  (ontrary, 
the  ral»l»iH  mui[\v  oat  Ahrali.im  as  tla-  tni->i  tnary,  the  hfrald 
of  rnonothcisin  in  iK  tnanh  to  world  <<)n<|Utst.  For  fii«»  um* 
«)f  thf  trrm,  "thf  (;(k|  of  hiavt-n  and  I'.u  (.u.i  .>(  the  <  irth"  - 
thoy  offt-r  a  « haraitt-ri^tir  «'X|>lanation  :  "  fk'l:>rc  Abraham 
came,  the  [Moplc  vvorshiiHil  onl)  th«'  Cio<l  oi  hiavcti.  but 
Abraham  by  winning  ihrm  for  his  i;<m|  brought  lUm  down 
an«l  made  Him  also  the  (.jikI  of  liic  earth."  ' 

().  Reverence  for  the  Deity  cause* I  th  '  Jew  to  avoid  not 
only  the  utterance  of  the  holy  Na»iie  itself.  bi;t  even  the  com- 
nn)n  Use  «»f  its  sibstitute  .\donai.  Therefore  .till  ot.^r 
synonyms  were  intrcHluced.  such  as  "  M  islt  r  ..f  the  universe," 
"the  Holy  One.  bles  .  .1  be  He"  "tlie  .\r  rciful  One."  "the 
OmniiK)tence"  {//<J  (»V/>mi<///),*  "  King  *'f  the  kin»;s  ol  kin^s" 
(under  Persian  influen-e-  as  the  Persian  rul.  r  railed  himxlf 
the  King  of  Kings) ,''  and  in  Hasidcan  cin  les  it  bccime  cus- 
tomary to  invoke  (Itxl  as  "our  Father"  an<'  "our  FiUh-r 
in  heaven."  '  The  rather  strange  apjullatitins  for  Innl, 
"ileaven"'  and  (dwelling)  "Place"  {lui  Mako'n)  seem  to 
originate  in  certain  formulas  of  the  oath.  In  the  latter 
name  the  rabbis  even  found  hints  of  (Jods  omnipresence: 
"As  s|)ace  Makoni  onc<»mpasses  all  things,  so  does  G(h1 
encompass  the  world  intead  of  being  encomj/assed  by  if."* 

'  Sifri-  to  Diul   VI,  4.  «  On.  XVIV,  j.  »  fkn.  K.  WIV,  3. 

•  Sh:»[).  M;  a.  Mij  •> ;    Mik.  Vahro  IV.  -  St-c  J.  V..,  ,irl,  AKiiu. 

•  Sec  I.  i:..  art.  Ah'<.i  and  Va.nrs  of  (mxI;  Wftn-r,  I.  c,  14H  f  ;  Uousset.II, 
356-.JO!;   S.hf(  httr  •   .|v/>,i/v.  II,  ji    jS. 

'  Set!  J.  i;..  art   Heaven;   Levy,  W   15.  :   "Shamayi  iv" 

•Sfc  I'ts.  X,  s;    ncr.  lO  Ij;  \h.  Zar.  40  b;   Go    R.  I.XVIII,  9,  referring 


If   ' 


t: 


niK   NAMi;  Oh    CH)l» 


6i 


lo.  'Hu-  r.ifjhis  rarly  roui  i  throKt^iial  mranlnR  into  t!»c 
tw»  narnrs  JHVH  ami  t:li>m*».  l.ikiiiK  thr  fctrnur  a-,  the 
<liviru'  altriou  «•  t»f  men  \  arnl  ihf  latliT  an  that  «»f  juUiie^ 
111  «•'•>«''■•''.  fn'W«\«'r,  llu  fninuT  namr  wis  )'X|>laiiui|  rty- 
molii^'iially  as  r^ignifvit));  f««Tuity,  "llr  wlm  i-.,  who  wan  and 
who  sh;ill  •'«•  '■  I'hilo  ^l.uws  famiharily  with  tlu  twu  atlri 
hull-.  !    •'(«■  aii«!   nicriy,   Imt   hr  uml  uthtT  Al«\aru Irian 

writ  ■      •    (iiaMM*'     IIIN'H    .khI    iJiwh    niclaphy^i' ally,    and 

'ihi' Oiu- wli'i  i-i."  that  iH,  thi- Suurtc 

!•  1. 1  '(turptliM'.-i -.1  ill  iuthunce  Jewish  »xo- 

iini   •■■      'u    l«rtn    "iho  I'.frrnal"   Minu'li'ni'H 


a«< 
of  . 


II 


I 


(,    i;  n  ,.  \X\!tl.  II.    P.  .1    K    H    X\'X\  ,    I'rii    Kah 

1    (    .  N  '    \l\ ,    lo,    >«•«•   :ilo  SiiL'friril      l'hili<.   p     -JJ,    J''i(, 

11,,   S.lu    ..  •!.  14       rill   |u»»,n;i   ii)  Milill.ton  Kx.  X\'IF,  7,  wlikh 

frfrr ,  .  ■  ''  '      .ah    Inn  lutlir  l)«-ul    X\  II,  hi,  M-t-tit't  oriKinally  liihii\c 

iHTti  :i  II  -  -til'.i      ,<iii«  |i>  I'.K    X\I,  i.r  *\li<  ri    t/i)t('W  !■»  ihc  t<|uivuM  tit 

of  Stakitm,  a  fiUct-  of  xvUvr.  inil  |mt  li' ri-  .»t  llir  wrnf;  pliKi"  by  an  error,  — 
Aitairi"!  S<-h«Nht.r,  I.  c    }■;  nolo  1,  hoii<.>M  1    '|»,  ^gi)  thinks   thai  hit    M:>ki>m 
for    t'uKl  i->  I'tTHian,  whvTe  Utth  -"'w  r  anil  limt"  wire  <lc'itiii|      St'i*    S|iiii;fl 
i'.rauiu  hf\  .Mtfrtlmm.  II.  1  •  (. 

'S«-<ii'n.  K    XII,  is;   XXX,  i;   T.ir^um  to  I'jmlm  I. VI,  11,  conip   rhilo, 
I,  4<K>;   .Siij{fric«l,  I   c,  jo),  .1  ,. 


CHAPTER  XI 


4  I 


The  Existence  of  God 

I.  For  the  religious  consciousness,  God  is  not  to  be  dem- 
onstrated by  argument,  but  is  a  fact  of  inner  and  outer  ex- 
perience. Whatever  the  origin  and  nature  of  the  cosmos 
may  be  according  to  natural  science,  ♦he  soul  of  man  follows 
its  natural  bent,  as  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  to  look  through 
nature  to  the  Maker,  Ordainer,  and  Ruler  of  all  things,  who 
uses  the  manifold  world  of  nature  only  as  His  workshop, 
and  who  rules  it  in  freedom  as  its  sovereign  Master.  The 
entire  cosmic  life  points  to  a  Supreme  Being  from  whom 
all  existence  must  have  arisen,  and  without  whom  life  and 
process  would  be  impossible.  Still  even  this  mode  of  thought 
is  influenced  ant!  determined  by  the  prevalent  monotheistic 
conceptions. 

Far  more  original  and  potent  in  man  is  the  feeling  of  limi- 
tation and  dependency.  This  brings  him  to  bow  down  before 
a  higher  Power,  at  first  in  fear  and  trembling,  but  later  in 
holy  awe  and  reverence.  As  soon  as  man  attains  self-con- 
sciousness and  his  will  acquires  purpose,  he  encounters  a  will 
strtmger  than  his  own,  with  which  he  often  comes  into  conflict, 
and  before  which  he  must  frequently  yield.  Thus  he  becomes 
conscious  of  duty  —  of  what  he  ought  and  ought  not  to  do. 
This  is  not,  like  earlier  limitations,  purely  physical  and 
working  from  without ;  it  is  moral  and  operates  from  within. 
It  is  the  sense  of  duty,  or,  as  we  'all  it,  conscience,  the  sense 
of  right  and  wTong.    This  awakened  very  early  in  the  race, 

64 


THE  EXISTENCE  OF  GOD 


6S 


and  through  it  God's  voice  has  been  perceived  ever  since  the 
days  of  Adam  and  of  Cain.' 

2.   According  to  Scripture,  man  in  his  natural  state  pos- 
sesses the  certainty  of  God's  existence  through  such  inner 
experi>  -.ce.     Therefore  the  Bible  contains  no  command  to 
bclia'e  in  God,  nor  any  logical  demonstration  of  His  existence. 
Both  the  Creation  stories  and  those  of  the  beginnings  of  man- 
kind assume  as  undisputed  the  existence  of  God  as  the  Cre- 
ator and  Judge  of  the  world.     Arguments  api)ealing  to  reason 
were  resorted  to  only  in  competition  with  idolatry,  as  in  Deu- 
teronomy, Jeremiah,  and  Deutero-Isaiah,  and  subsequently 
by  the  rfaggadists  in  legends  such  as  those  alxjut  Abraham. 
Nor  does  the  Bible  consider  any  who  deny  the  existence  of 
God  ;  =  only  much  later,  in  the  Talmud,  do  we  hear  of  those 
who     deny  the  fundam-.-ntal  princijile"  of  the  faith.     The 
doubt  expressed  ui  Job.  Koheleth,  and  .  ertain  of  the  Psalms, 
concerns  rather  the  justice  of  God  than  His  existence.     True,' 
Jeremiah  a    I  the  Psalms^  mention  .some  who  say  "There  is 
no  God,"  but  these  are  not  atheists  in  our  sense  of  ihe  word ; 
they  are  the  impious  who  deny  the  moral  order  of  life  by  word 
or  deed,     it  is  the  villain  (XabuD ,  not  the  "fool "  who  "  says  in 
his  heart ,  there  is  no  God."     Even  the  Talmud  does  not  mean 
the  real  atheist  when  speaking  of  "the  denier  of  the  funda- 
mental principL."  out  the  man  who  .says,  "There  is  neither 
a  judgment  nor  a  Jufige  above  and  beyond."  •»     In  other  words, 
the  "denier     is  the  sam.-  as  the  Epicurean  (Apicoros),  who 
refuses  to  recognize  the  moral  government  of  the   world.* 

3.   After  the  downfall  of  the  nation  and  Temple,  the  situ- 
ation  changed   through    the  contemptuous  question   of   the 

'  .Mttaphysiral  pr.wfs  for  G..  ,  cxi>tau.-  hivt-  h.rn  outlawi-,1  since  Kant 
(.1x1  IS  thf  fwstulate  of  man's  moral  const iouMiL=s.  See  Kauwcnliofl,  1.  c,  :j6- 
357- 

'  See  art.  .\thoism,  ia  J.  K.  ami  in  Knc.  Rcli.  and  Kthics,  II,  18  f 

•  M-  V.  12;   I'salm  X,  4;  XIV,  1  ;   I.III,  i. 

«  B.  B.  .6  b;  Targ.  to  Gen.  IV,  8.  »  See  above,  Chapter  IV,  3. 


66 


JFAVISH   Til'sOLOGY 


F' 


nations,  "VVhcrc  is  your  (iod?"  T'r.cn  the  necessity  be- 
came evident  of  proving  that  the  kuler  of  nations  still  held 
dominion  over  the  woild,  and  that  His  wondrous  i-v)wers 
were  shown  more  than  ever  before  throuj^h  the  fact  of  Israel's 
preservation  in  ca[)livity.  This  is  the  substance  of  the  ad- 
dresses of  the  Kreat  seer  of  the  Kxile  in  chaplers  XL  to  LIX 
of  Isaiah,  in  which  he  ex|X)ses  the  gods  of  heathendom  to 
everlasting^  scorn,  more  than  any  other  prophet  before  or 
afterward.  He  declares  these  deities  to  be  vanity  and  naught, 
but  proclaims  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  as  the  Lord  of  the  uni- 
verse. He  hath  "  meted  out  the  hea\  tns  with  the  span,"  and 
"  weighefl  the  mountains  in  scales,  and  the  hills  in  a  balance."' 
Hcfore  Him  "  the  nations  are  as  a  droj)  of  the  bucket,"  and 
"  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  as  grasshoppers."  "  He  bringeth 
out  the  hosts  of  the  stars  by  number,  and  culleth  them  all  by 
name,"  "He  hath  assigned  to  the  generations  of  men  their 
lot  from  the  beginning,  and  knowclh  at  the  beginning  what 
will  be  their  end."  •  Measured  by  such  pas.sages  •s  these  anil 
such  as  l'>alms  VIII.  XXIV,  XXXIH,  CIV,  ami  CXXXIX, 
where  CumI  is  felt  as  a  living  |)()wer.  all  philt»s()i)hical  argu- 
ments about  His  existence  seem  to  be  strange  fires  on  the  altar 
of  riligion.  i'he  believer  can  do  without  them,  and  the  un- 
believer will  hardly  be  convinced  l)y  them. 

4.  Upon  the  contact  of  the  Jew  with  (ireek  phiK)Sophy 
doubt  arose  in  many  iniM<ls,  and  belief  entered  into  contliit 
with  reason.  But  even  then,  the  difense  of  the  faith  was 
still  larrii-d  on  by  reasoning  along  the  lines  of  lommon  .sense. - 
riiu-  the  regul.irit)  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  all  wor- 
shiped l)\  the  p.igans  as  drilies  was  considered  a  proof  of 
(iod's  umniix.lciue  and  rule  ot  the  universe,  a  prt)of  whi(  h 
the  l(,rrnii  .im  rihcs  to  .Ahraluini  in  his  lontroversy  with 
Niniiod  '      ill  like  manner,  ihe  apoi  ryi)hal  Hook  of  Wisdom* 


'  la    \l.    1        '•.    .\l.\  I.  10. 
■*  Sec  J.  1'..  .irl    Al  i.iliaiii. 


H  .11  -.1,  1.  t\ 
.Mil. 


'■>i--'<>S. 


THE  EXISTENCE  OF  (^D 


67 


says  that  true  wisdom,  as  opposed  to  the  folly  of  heathenirm, 
is  "to  reason  fiom  the  visible  to  the  Invisible  One,  and  from 
the  cosmos,  the  great  work  of  art,  to  the  Supreme  Artificer." 

5.  Philo  was  the  first  who  tried  10  refute  the  "atheistic" 
views  of  materialists  and  pantheists  by  jidduring  proofs  of 
God's  existence  from  nature  and  the  human  intellect.  In 
the  former  he  pointed  out  order  as  evidence  of  the  wisdom 
underlying  the  cosmos,  and  in  the  latter  the  power  of  self- 
determination  as  shadowing  forth  a  universal  mind  which 
determines  the  entire  universe.'  Still,  with  his  mystical 
attitude,  Philo  realized  that  the  chief  knowledj^'e  of  God  is 
through  intuition,  by  the  inner  exjjerience  of  the  soul. 

6.  Two  proofs  taken  from  nature  owe  their  origin  to 
Greek  philosophy.  Anaxagoras  and  Socrates,  from  their 
theory  of  design  in  nature,  deduced  that  there  is  a  universal 
intelligence  working  for  higher  aims  and  puqioses.  This  so- 
called  telcological  proof,  as  worked  out  in  detail  by  Plato, 
was  the  unfailing  reliance  of  subsequent  philosophers  and 
theologians.-  Plato  and  Aristotle,  noreover,  from  the 
continuous  motion  of  all  matter,  inferred  a  prime  cause,  an 
unmoved  mover.  This  is  the  so-called  cosmological  proof, 
used  by  different  schools  in  varying  forms.''  It  occupies  the 
foremost  place  in  the  systems  of  the  .Arabic  Aristotelians, 
and  consequently  is  dominant  among  the  Jewish  philosophers, 
the  Christian  scholastics,  and  in  the  modern  philosophic 
schools  down  to  Kant.  It  is  based  ujjon  the  old  principle 
of  causality,  and  therefore  takes  the  mutability  and  relativity 
of  all  beings  in  the  cosmos  as  evidence  of  a  Being  that  is 
immutable,  unconditioned,  and  absolutely  necessary,  causa 
sui,  the  prime  cause  of  all  existence. 

'  I'hili):  I)c  Somniis,  I,  4j.  44;  /,lkr :  /).  Philosophic  d.  Griichen,  III,. 
2,  307  f. ,    Drummond:    rhilo  Jmlceu^.  II.  4-5. 

'Sec  I).  F.  Sirauhs:  Chri-.tt.  C,l,iuh,nsUlir,\  I,  364-3Qq ;  Windelband  :  Iliit. 
oj  Phil.,  transl.  by  J.  H.  Tuft.s,  :d  od.,  1914,  p.  54,  98,  128,  327. 

•  Sec  Windclband-Tufts,  1.  c,  145,  292. 


68 


JEWISH   THEOLOGY 


H 


,/•' 


7.  The  Mohammedan  tht-olouians  added  a  new  clement  to 
the  discussion.  In  their  endeavor  to  prove  that  the  world 
is  the  work  of  a  Creator,  they  pointed  as  evidence  to  the 
multiformity  and  composite  structure,  the  contingency  and 
dependency  of  the  cosmos ;  thus  they  concluded  that  it  must 
have  l)ecn  created,  and  that  its  Creator  must  necessarily  he 
the  one,  absolute,  and  all-determining  cause.  This  proof  is 
used  also  by  Saadia  and  Bahya  ben  Jt)seph.'  Its  weakness, 
however,  was  exjwsed  by  Ibn  Sina  and  Alfarabi  amon^  the 
Mohammedans,  and  later  by  Abraham  ibn  Daud  and  Mai- 
monides,  their  Jewish  succes.sors  as  Aristotelians.  These 
proposed  a  substitute  argument.  From  the  fact  that  the 
existence  of  all  cosmic  beings  is  merely  possible,  —  that  is, 
they  may  exist  and  they  may  not  exist,  -these  thinkers  con- 
cluded that  an  absolutely  necessary  being  must  exist  as  the 
cause  and  condition  of  all  things,  and  this  absolutely  un- 
conditioned yet  all-conditioning  being  is  (iod,  the  One  who 
is.'  Of  course,  the  God  so  deduced  and  inferred  is  a  mere 
abstraction,  incapable  of  satisfying  the  emotional  craving  of 
the  heart. 

8.  While  the  cosm«)logical  proof  [)r()ceeds  from  the  tran- 
sitory and  imperfect  nature  of  the  world,  the  ontological  proof, 
first  proposed  by  Anselm  of  Canterbur\-,  the  Christian  scholas- 
tic of  the  XI  century,  and  further  elaborated  by  Descartes 
and  Mendelssohn,  proceeds  from  the  hujian  intellect.  The 
mind  conceives  the  idea  of  Cod  as  an  absofutely  perfect  being, 
and,  as  there  can  be  no  jierfection  without  existence,  the  con- 
clusion is  that  this  idea  must  necessarily  be  objectively  true. 
Then,  as  the  idea  of  God  is  innate  in  man,  God  must  neces- 
sarily e.xist,  —  and  for  proof  of  this  they  point  to  the  Scriptural 
verse,  "The  fool  halii  sa'-l  in  his  heart,  there  is  no  Ciod," 


'  Soi-  Strauss,  I.  r. ;    Kaufmann,  I.  < .,  3-.?,  sH;    D.  Theologif  d.  Bachya,  p. 
2:2  f  ;    Husik  ;    Hisl.  Jru:  Phil.,  p.  .i.'  fT.,  H.,  iT. 

'  Kaufmaiin,  1.  c,  p.  341  f.,  4.}i  f. ;   lluaik,  1.  c,  nS  f.,  .'54  f. 


THE  EXISTFNCE  OF  GOD 


6g 


and  other  similar  passage-.  In  ii>  improved  form,  this  ar- 
Rument  uses  the  human  fon'.],?  of  an  infmitely  perfect  God 
as  evidence,  or,  at  least,  d-  {xi-'ui.itr  that  such  a  Being  exists 
beyond  the  finite  world    if  man 

Another  argument  rather  nai\t  in  character,  which  was 
favored  hy  the  Stoits  and  adopted  bv  the  Church  fathers,  is 
called  lie  consensu  fienlium.  an<l  tn^l.a\or»d  to  prove  the  re- 
ality of  (iod's  existence  from  the  universslif  ot  Hi-  worship. 
It  speaks  well  for  the  sound  rcaM)ninj,'  of  th,  ji-wi-h  thinkers 
that  they  refused  to  f()l!ow  the  lead  of  thi  Mi.hammrdans  in 
this  respect,  and  rlid  not  avail  themselves  ot  an  .rj^ument 
which  can  he  used  just  as  easily  in  support  of  ,i  plurality 
of  KOtls- 

().  All  these  so-called  proof-;  were  invalidated  h\  Immanuel 
Kant,  the  great  philosopher  of  Konigsher^,  who-c  (  rilical  in- 
quiry into  the  human  intelkrt  showed  that  the  entire  sum  of 
our  knowledge  of  objects  and  also  of  the  formulation  of  our 
ideas  is  based  u|H)n  our  limited  mode  of  apperception,  while 
the  reality  or  essence,  "the  thing  in  ilxlf,"  will  ever  remain 
beyond  our  ken.  If  this  is  true  of  physical  objects,  it  is  all 
the  more  true  of  (lod,  whom  we  know  through  our  minds 
alone  and  not  at  all  through  our  live  .senses.  Acionlingly. 
he  shows  that  all  the  metaphysical  arguments  have  no  basis, 
and  that  we  can  know  (iod's  cvistenic  only  through  rlhics, 
as  a  postulate  of  our  moral  nature.  The  inner  < on-i  iousness 
of  our  moral  obligation,  .r  fluty,  ini|)lies  a  moral  order  of  life, 
or  moral  law;  and  this,  in  turn,  postulates  the  ixisttrue  of 
God.  the  Ruler  of  life,  who  a.ssign>  to  each  of  us  liia  task  and 
his  destiny.^ 

lo.  It  is  true  that  God  is  Idt  and  worshiped  tirst  as  the 
supreme  power  in  the  world,  before  man  perceives  Him  as 

'  Sfo  I).  F.  Str.iusN   I   (•  ;    U  in(|ilh,ini|-Tuft<.  p    jo;,  <f)j. 
'  1)    I'.  Straus-,  i.  (■  ,  n^.  vu  ,   W  inddband  Tufl.s.  I   c  ,  450. 
'  Sw  Winiietband-Tufis.  I   r  ,  S40-55O. 


ill 


70 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


[f 


i 


the  highest  ideal  of  morality.    Therefore  man  will  never 
cease  looking  about  him  for  vestiges  of  divinity  and  for  proofs 
of  his  intuitive  knowledge  of  God.    The  wondrous  order, 
harmony,  an<i  signs  of  design  in  nature,  as  well  as  the  impulse 
of  the  reason  to  search  for  the  unity  of  all  things,  corroborate 
this  innate  belief  in  (JimI.    Still  more  do  the  consciousness 
of  duty  in  the  individual  -  conscience  —  and  the  progress  of 
history  with  its  repeate«i  vindication  of  right  and  defeat  of 
wrong  priKlaim  to  the  believer  unmistakably  that  the  (iod 
of   justice  reigns.     But  no  prt)of,  however  convincing,  will 
ever  bring  back  to  the  skeptic  or  unbeliever  the  God  he  has 
lost,  unless  his  pangs  of  anguish  or  the  void  within  fill  his 
desolate  world  anew  with  the  vivifying  thought  of  a  living  God. 
II.   Among  all  the  Jewish  religious  philosophers  the  high- 
est rank  must  be  accorded  to  Jehudah  ha  Levi,  the  author  of 
the  Cuzari,^  who  makes  the  historical  fat  t  of  the  divine  reve- 
lation the  foundation  of  the  Jewish  religion  and  the  chief  tes- 
timony of  the  existence  of  (iod.     As  a  matter  of  fact,  reason 
alone  will  not  lead  to  Gml,  except  where  religious  intuition 
forms,  so  to  speak,  the  luddir  of  heaven,  leading  to  the  realm 
of  the  unknowable.     Philosophy,  at  best,  can  only  demon- 
strate the  existence  of  a  final  Cause,  or  of  a  supreme  Intelli- 
gence working  toward  sublime  purposes  ;  possibly  also  a  moral 
government  of  the  world,  in  both  the  physical  and  the  spiritual 
life.     Religion   alone,   founded   u[)on   divine   revelation,   (an 
teach  man  to  fmd  a  God,  to  whom  he  can  appeal  in  trust  in 
his  moments  of  trouble  or  of  woe,  and  whose  will  he  t  an  see  in 
the  dictates  of  conscience  and  the  destiny  of  nations.     Reason 
must   serve  as  a  corrective  for   the   contents  of   revelation, 
scrutinizing  and  purifying,  deepening'  and  spiritualizing  ever 
anew  the  truths  receiv.d  through  intuition,  but  it  can  never 
be  the  final  source  ot  truth. 


'See  Kaufm.inn,  I.  r..  p    22s  f,  and,  opi^o^  '"  him,  Neumari. 
Halevi's  Philn^ofihy.  Ciniuinali,  I'^og.     Set  also  Husik,  !   r.,  157  fl. 


Jchuda 


THE  EXISTENCE  OF  GOD 


71 


12.  The  same  method  must  apply  also  to  mmlem  thought 
and  research,  which  substituted  historical  methtnls  for  meta- 
physics  in  Ixith  the  physical  and  intellectual  world,  and  which 
endeavors  to  trace  the  origin  and  growth  of  l)oth  objects  and 
ideas  in  accordance  with  fixed  laws.  The  priKess  of  evolu- 
tion, our  mcKlern  key  with  which  to  unlixk  the  secrets  of 
nature,  points  most  significantly  to  a  Supreme  Power  and 
F3nerj?y.  But  this  energy,  entering  into  the  cosmic  process  at 
its  outset,  causing  its  motion  lunl  its  growth,  implies  also  an 
end,  and  thus  again  we  have  the  Supreme  Intelligence  reached 
through  a  new  ty[)e  of  teleology.'  But  all  these  conceplions, 
however  they  may  be  in  harmony  with  the  Jewish  belief  in 
creation  and  revelation,  can  at  best  supplement  it,  but  can 
certainly  neither  supplant  nor  be  identified  with  it. 

'  Comi>are  r.  Stligmati  Judrnth.  u.  modrrnr  Ami h<iuun^.  Thr  philoMiphy 
of  HerRion,  whiih  eliminates  ili'sinn  ami  purfM)sc  from  ihcrosmos  and  pimx-s 
Deity  itself  into  the  prixess  as  the  vital  urgent  of  it  all,  an<l  thu>  sees  (JiHl  forever 
in  the  makmK,  i^  pantheistii  and  un-Jewish.aiid  therefore  cannot  be  considereil 
in  a  theology  of  Judaism  This  does  not  exclude  our  acccptitit;  minor  element* 
of  his  system,  which  contains  suKi;estive  hint^  H.  ()  \V«'IIs'  Gmi  thr  Invisihlt 
King  (Macmillan,  iqi")  is  likewise  a  God  in  the  muiking,  man-miidt,  noHhc 
Maker  and  Ruler  of  nuin. 


r 


CHAPTER  XII 


The  Essence  of  God 

1.  An  exquisite  Orienlal  fable  tells  of  a  sage  who  had  been 
meditating  vainly  for  days  and  weeks  on  the  question,  What 
is  God?  One  day,  walking  along  the  seashore,  he  saw  some 
children  busying  themselves  by  digging  holes  in  the  sand  and 
pouring  into  them  water  from  the  sea.  "What  are  you  doing 
there?"  he  asked  them,  to  which  they  re[)lied,  "We  want  to 
empty  the  sea  of  its  water."  "Oh,  you  little  fools,"  he  ex- 
claimed with  a  smile,  but  suddenly  his  smile  vani.shed  in  serious 
thought.  "Am  I  not  as  foolish  as  these  children?"  he  said 
to  himself.  "  How  can  I  with  my  small  brain  hope  to  grasp  the 
infinite  nature  of  G(k1  ? " 

All  efforts  of  philosophy  to  define  the  essence  of  God  are 
futile.  "Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God?"  Zophar 
asks  of  his  friend  Job.'  Both  Philo  and  Maimonides  main- 
tain that  we  can  know  of  God  only  that  He  is;  we  can  never 
fathom  His  innermost  being  or  know  what  He  is.  Both  find 
this  unknowability  of  God  expressed  in  the  words  spoken  to 
Moses:  "If  I  withdraw  My  hand,  thou  shall  see  My  back 
—  that  is,  the  effects  of  liod's  pt)\ver  and  vvi.sdom  —  but  My 
face  —  the  real  essence  of  (iod  -    thou  shalt  not  see."  * 

2.  Still,  a  divinity  void  of  all  essential  qualitie-  fails  to 
satisfy  the  religious  soul.  Man  demands  to  know  what  Ciod 
is       at  least,  what  God  is  to  him.     In  the  first  word  of  the 


'  Job  XI,  7. 

'  Kx.  XXXIII.  ^3  ;  .Maim.;   K<  w></t' A.<  TyraA,  I,  8   !o ;   \fi>reli.  I,  it  a  , 
•  iiin.  1.  r,  431  ;  I'hilo     .\lutatio  ,\om.,  j;    \  ita  .Mo-i^,  I     s      i.i>;.  .Ml. 
.'.jd  il^itAherc.     Set  J.  Dru..;miind  ;    riulf  Juddhs,  11,  i-.  ^4. 

U 


Kauf- 


THE   ESSENCE  OF  tlOD 


73 


Decalogue  Got!  s[)euks  through  His  pet)plc  Israel  to  the  reli- 
gious con-^riouspiss  of  all  men  at  all  times,  beginning.  " I  am 
the  Lord.  Ihy  (kkI."  This  word  /  lifts  (io<l  at  once  al>ove 
all  beings  and  jKiwcrs  of  the  r()sm«>s.  in  fact.  alK)vi'  all  other 
existence,  for  it  expresses  If  is  uniciue  self-ct)nst  iousness.  This 
attril'Ute  above  all  is  jHjssessed  by  i.o  Iwing  in  the  world  of 
nature,  and  only  by  man.  who  is  the  image  of  his  Maker. 
According  to  the  Midrash,  all  <reati<  n  was  hushed  when  the 
Lord  siM»ke  on  Sinai.  "/  am  the  Lonl,"  '  (iod  is  not  merely 
the  sui)reme  Being,  but  also  the  supr-me  Self-consciousness 
As  man.  in  spile  of  all  his  limitations  and  heli)lessness  -.till 
towers  high  above  all  his  fellow  creatures  by  virtue  oi  his  free 
will  and  self-const  ious  action.  st>  (iod.  who  knows  no  Intunds 
to  His  wistlom  anti  power,  surjjassfs  all  beings  and  forces  t)f 
the  universe,  for  He  rides  over  all  as  the  one  completely  self- 
conscious  Mind  and  Will.  In  both  the  visible  and  invisible 
realms  He  manifests  Himself  as  the  absolutely  free  PtrM)nality, 
moral  and  spiritual,  who  allots  to  every  thing  its  existence, 
form,  and  purjHtse.  For  this  reason  Scripture  calls  Him 
"the  living  ("itul  antl  everlasting  King."  ^ 

3.  Judaism,  accordingly,  teaches  us  tt)  recogni/e  God, 
above  all.  as  revealing  Himself  in  self-const  ious  activity,  as 
determining  all  that  happens  by  His  absolutely  free  will,  and 
thus  as  showing  man  how  to  walk  as  a  fret-  moral  agent.  In 
relatitm  to  the  world.  His  work  t)r  workshop,  He  is  the  self- 
conscious  Master,  saying  "I  am  that  whit  h  I  am";  in  rela- 
titm to  man.  who  is  akin  to  Him  as  a  self-const  ious  rational 
and  moral  being.  He  i>  the  living  I't)untain  ot  all  that  knowl- 
edge and  spirituality  for  which  nun  long,  ami  in  which  altmc 
they  may  fmtl  contentment  ami  bliss. 

Thus  the  God  of  Jutlaism,  the  world's  threat  /  Am.  forms  a 
complete  contrast,  not  only  to  .!ie  liuK--^  powers  of  n.iture 
and  destiny,  which  were  worshi{)etl    by  the  ancient  pagans, 
»  Ex.  R.  XXrX.  at  the  cIum;.  « Jti,  X,  lo. 


1 1 


74 


jFWi^K  thf;oi.<)(;v 


but  also  to  the  God  of  m«Mtf  n  paKaninm,  a  (Jo<l  divested  of  all 
pel  tonality  and  sell-cons<iousnc!;»,  such  as  He  is  conceived 
of  by  the  new  Mrhool  nf  CI  islian  theology,  <viih  it^  paruhcisiic 
lendeni  y.  I  refer  to  the  mhiM)!  of  Ritsihl,  which  strives  to 
rcHvler  the  mylh  m  the  Jnaf'-K««l  philonophically  intelli>:ible  by 
teaching  that  Cnn\  reavhen  sclf-con^iousness  only  in  the  per- 
fect typo  of  man.  that  is.  f  hri'^l,  while  otherwise  He  is  entirely 
immanent,  one  ..ith  the  .voild.  All  the  more  forcibly  dix-s 
Jewish  rnonotheinni  insist  upon  'is  in  trine  that  ("kkI.  in  His 
continual  self-rcvil.itio..,  i^  the  supermundam  and  self 
conscious  Kuler  ol  both  nature  and  history.  "I  am  the  l..ord, 
that  is  My  name,  and  My  ylory  will  I  not  Rive  to  another," 
—  bo  says  the  (ifxl  of  Judni'^m.' 

4.  The  Jewish  (iod  idea,  of  course,  ha<l  lo  k<i  through  many 
stages  I  >  dev<!.)pment  lM'for<'  it  reached  the  (omt-pt  of  u 
transcendental  and  spiritual  god  It  was  necc  sary  first  that 
the  Decalogue  md  tic  Bcxik  of  the  Covenant  prohibit  most 
stringently  pt)lyth«ism  an<i  every  form  of  idolatry,  and  "second 
that  a  strictly  imageless  worship  impress  the  people  \.iih  the 
idea  that  Israel's  (iod  was  inAh  invisible  and  incorporeal.' 
Yet  a  wide  step  St ili  intervt  iied  from  that  stage  to  the  complete 
recognition  of  (iod  as  a  purely  spiritual  Being  lacking  all 
qualities  perceptible  to  the  senses,  and  not  resembling  man 
in  either  his  inner  or  his  outer  nature.  Centuries  of  gradual 
ripening  of  thought  were  still  necessary  for  the  growth  of  this 
conception.  This  wa>  rem'ered  --till  more  dinicult  !)y  the 
Scriptural  references  to  (kmI  in  I  lis  actions  and  His  revelations, 
and  even  in  His  motives,  after  a  human  pattern.  Israel's 
sages  rcHjuired  centuries  of  effort  to  remove  all  anthropo- 
mori)hic  and  anthr. )popathic  notions  of  (iod.  und  thus  to 
elevate  Him  to  the  highest  realm  of  spirituaUty.* 

'  Isaiah  XI.IV.  6. 

•  Comp.  Dillmann,  I.  c,  226-135 ;   D.  F.  Strauss,  1.  c,  I,  525-333- 

•Sec    J.    E.,    art.    Ant'iropomoqihism    and    Anthropopathum.     Comp. 
Schmicdl,  I.  c,  i-jo. 


niF.  Fssi  Ntf:  OF  u)i) 


75 


5.  In  this  prcHC's  of  i|.v<lopni»-n»  (w«>  |w)int«(  of  vii-w  «lc- 
mand  considoratujn.  Wi-  must  not  t.viTliM)k  the  fin  l  that  the 
perfectly  (icur  distru  tit»n  whit  h  wr  rnakr  Intwi^ri  the  srn- 
ftory  and  the  "spiritual  diH-s  not  apinal  lu  the  thild  like  mind, 
whiih  M'fs  it  rather  as  external.  Wh.it  we  lall  tranMemlent, 
owing  to  our  tomprrhenHimi  ,,f  the  iinn»easural»!e  universr 
was  formerly  lonceive*!  only  as  far  renmte  in  ^pa(e  or  time. 
Thus  (.imI  is  ^I).»ken  of  in  S.  lipture  .i~  tlwellinj^  in  heav<n  and 
liH)kinK  down  uf>on  the  inhabitants  of  tlu-  earth  to  judK'e  ih'^m 
an«!  to  Kuide  thmi  '  A«ior<iin«  to  I)t uterononiy,  (l..d  >poke 
from  heaven  tu  the  peopl«  ahout  Mt.  Sinai,  while  Kxo<iu>« 
rcprcs«'ntH  Hin.  is  coming  dowi,  to  the  niouniain  Irom  Hir. 
heavenly  ht  ijjhts  to  |)riKlaim  tin  law  amid  thunder  and 
linhtnin;;/'  'I  he  Hahylonian  d.nieption  nf  heaven  prevailed 
throughout  the  Middle  Aj,'r>  and  iiiiluennd  Inith  the  myotic 
lort'  alnnit  the  heaveidy  throne  .ind  the  |ifiiUisuphit  (osmology 
of  the  A'-i-tuteli.ins,  mu  h  a.  Mainioiiides  \\>l  Sertpturc 
ofirs  aU)  aiii.ther  view,  the  (omept  of  {'hh\  as  the  One  en- 
throneilon  high  whom  the  heaven  and  the  heaven's  heavens 
cannot  entompa  ..«••"  •* 

The  fait  is  that  lanKuage  still  laiku!  an  expression  fi.r  pure 
spirit,  and  the  intilleet  freed  itself  only  gradually  from  the 
restrictions  of  primitive  language  to  attain  a  purer  lomeption 
of  the  ilivine.  Thus  we  attain  di-ejM  r  in>i).dit  ii.to  the  spiritual 
nature  of  l.od  when  we  read  the  iiiiniilahle  words  o|  the 
Psalmist  descrihing  His  onini|)resen(  e,^  ur  that  other  passage: 
"  He  thai  plante<l  the  ear,  shall  He  n-ii  hear  ?  He  that  formed 
the  eye.  shall  He  not  see?  He  thai  chastiseth  the  n-tions, 
shall  He  not  correct,  even  He  that  teaches  man  knov  ledge?  ""  * 

The  translators  an'!  interpreters  ol  tlu:  Hihie  ft  !t  the  need 
of  eliminating  everything  of  a  sm.sory  nature  from  (lod  and 


'  Ps  xxxni,  I J-14. 

'  Deul   IV,  ^6     Kx.  XIX,  io.    Comp.  Gen.  XI,  5.  •  Isa.  XIA  I,  i. 

♦  Pi.  CXXAIX.  7  10.  I  p,.  XCIV,  9. 


MICtOCOPV   MSOIUTION   TtST   CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No    2) 


1.0 


I.I 


1^  iSi 

2.2 


1^ 

1 40 


1.4 


2.0 
1.8 


^  APPLIED  INA^IGE     Inc 

S\i  '653   tQ5t   Main   SI»MI 

:^S  Rochester,    New   York        14609       USA 

Jg  {'16)   482  -  0300  -  Pfione 

^S  (716)   288  -  S989  -  Fo, 


76 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


I 


f'i 


r 

h 

it 


of  avoiding  anthropomorphism,  through  the  Influence  of 
Greek  philosophy.  This  spiritualization  of  the  God  idea  was 
taken  up  again  by  the  philosophers  of  the  Spanish-Arabic 
period,  who  combated  the  prevailing  mysticism.  Through 
them  Jewish  monotheism  emphasized  its  opposition  to  ever/ 
human  representation  of  God,  especially  the  God-Man  of  the 
Christian  Church. 

6.  On  the  other  hand,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  we 
naturally  ascribe  to  God  a  human  personality,  whether  we 
speak  of  Him  as  the  Master-worker  of  the  universe,  as  the  all- 
seeing  and  all-hearing  Judge,  or  the  compassionate  and  merci- 
ful Father.  We  cannot  help  attributing  human  qualities  and 
emotions  to  Him  the  moment  we  invest  Him  with  a  moral 
and  spiritual  nature.  When  we  speak  of  His  punitive  justice, 
His  unfailing  mercy,  or  His  all-wise  providence,  we  transfer 
to  Him,  imperceptibly,  our  own  righteous  indignation  at  the 
sight  of  a  wicked  deed,  or  our  own  compassion  with  the 
sufferer,  or  even  our  own  mode  of  deliberation  and  decision. 
Moreover,  the  prophets  and  the  Torah,  in  order  to  make  God 
plain  to  the  people,  described  Him  in  vivid  images  of  human 
life,  with  anger  and  jealousy  as  well  as  compassion  and  re- 
pentance, and  also  with  the  organs  and  functions  of  the 
senses,  —  seeing,  hearing,  smelling,  speaking,  and  walking. 

7.  The  rabbis  are  all  the  more  emphatic  in  their  assertions 
that  the  Torah  merely  intends  to  assist  he  simple-minded, 
and  that  unseemly  expressions  concerning  Deity  are  due  to 
the  inadequacy  of  language,  and  must  not  be  taken  literally.' 
"It  is  an  act  of  boldness  allowed  only  lo  the  prophets  to  meas- 
ure the  Creator  by  the  standard  of  the  creature,"  says  the 
Haggadist,  and  again,  "God  appeared  to  Israel,  now  as  a 
heroic  warrior,  now  as  a  venerable  sage  imparting  knowledge, 
and  again  as  a  kind  dispenser  of  bounties,  but  always  in  a 

'See  Ab.  d.  R.  Nathan  II;    Bacher:    D.  Excgetische  Terminologie,  I,  8; 

Schechter,  1.  c,  35. 


ll 


r.*.*-}*"-, 
^■^■e^ 


THE  ESSENCE  OF  GOD 


77 


manner  befitting  the  time  and  circumstance,  so  as  to  satisfy 
the  need  of  the  human  heart."  '  This  is  strikingly  illustrated 
in  the  foUovdng  dialogue:  "A  heretic  came  to  Rabbi  Meir 
asking,  'How  can  you  reconcile  the  passage  which  reads, 
"Do  I  not  nil  heaven  and  earth,  says  the  Lord,"  with  the  one 
which  relates  that  the  Lord  appeared  to  Moses  between  the 
cherubim  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant?'  Whereupon  Rabbi 
Meir  took  two  mirrors,  one  large  and  the  other  small,  and 
placed  them  before  the  interrogator.  'Look  into  this  glass,' 
he  said,  'and  into  that.  Does  not  your  figure  seem  different 
in  one  than  in  the  other?  How  much  more  will  the  majesty 
of  God,  who  has  neither  figure  nor  form,  be  reflected  differently 
in  the  minds  of  men  !  To  one  it  will  appear  according  to  his 
narrow  view  of  life,  and  to  the  other  in  accordance  with  his 
larger  mental  horizon.'"' 

In  like  manner  Rabbi  Joshua  ben  Hanania,  when  asked 
sarcastically  by  the  Emperor  Hadrian  to  show  him  his  God, 
replied :  "Come  and  look  at  the  sun  which  now  shines  in  the 
full  splendor  of  noonday !  Behold,  thou  art  dazzled.  How, 
then,  canst  thou  see  without  bewilderment  the  majesty  of 
Him  from  whom  emanates  both  sun  and  stars?"  ^  This  re- 
joinder, which  was  familiar  to  the  Greeks  also,  is  excelled  by 
the  one  of  Rabban  Gamaliel  H  to  a  heathen  who  asked  him 
"Where  does  the  God  dwell  to  whom  you  daily  pray?" 
"Tell  me  first,"  he  answered,  "where  does  your  soul  dwell, 
which  is  so  close  to  thee?  Thou  canst  not  tell.  How,  then, 
can  I  inform  thee  concerning  Him  who  dwells  in  heaven,  and 
whose  throne  is  separated  from  the  earth  by  a  journey  of 
3500  years?"  "Then  do  we  not  do  better  to  pray  to  gods 
who  are  near  at  hand,  and  whom  we  can  see  with  our  eyes?" 

»  Gen.  R.  XXVII ;  Mek.  E.x.  XV ;  Pes.  d.  R.  K.  109  b ;  Tanh.  tc  Lx.  XXII, 
16;  Schechter,  1.  c,  43  f. 

*  Gen.  R.  IV,  3 ;  comp.  Pes.  d.  R.  K.  2  b ;  Schechter,  1.  c,  29  f. 
«  Hul.  59,  60;  Sanh.  39  a ;  Pliilo  :    Di:  Abruhamo,  76. 


.'."^•Si". •«>!•..•'■?'    f' 


^iciiu  tiis:^»»^ 


»-l'»V  ««♦'!« 


I  'J 

I    »  •    * 


78 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


continued  the  heathen,  whereupon  the  sage  struck  home, 
"Well,  you  may  see  your  guds,  but  they  neither  see  nor  help 
you,  while  our  God,  Himself  unseen,  yet  sees  and  protects  us 
constantly."  '  The  comparison  of  the  invisible  soul  to  God, 
the  invisible  spirit  of  the  universe,  is  worked  out  further  in 
the  Midrash  to  Psalm  CIII. 

8.  From  the  foregoing  it  is  clear  that,  while  Judaism  in- 
sists on  the  Deity's  transcending  all  finite  and  sensory  limi- 
tations, it  never  lost  the  sense  of  the  close  relationship  between 
man  and  his  Maker.  Notwit!  tanding  Christian  theologians 
to  the  contrary',  the  Jewish  God  was  never  a  mere  abstraction.' 
The  words,  "I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,"  betoken  the  intimate 
relation  between  the  redeemed  and  the  heavenly  Redeemer, 
and  the  song  of  triumph  at  the  Red  Sea,  "This  is  my  God,  I 
will  extol  Him,"  testifies  —  according  to  the  Midrash  —  that 
even  the  humblest  of  God's  chosen  people  were  filled  with 
the  feeling  of  His  nearness.'  In  the  same  way  the  warm 
breath  of  union  with  God  breathes  through  all  the  writings, 
the  prayers,  and  the  whole  history  of  Judaism.  "For  what 
great  nation  is  there  that  hath  God  so  nigh  unto  them  as  the 
Lord  our  God  is,  whenever  we  call  upon  Him?"  exclaims 
Moses  in  Deuteronomy,  and  the  rabbis,  commenting 
upon  the  plural  form  used  here,  Kerobim,  =  "nigh,"  remark  : 
"God  is  nigh  to  everyone  in  accordance  with  his  special 
needs."  * 

9.  Probably  the  rabbis  were  at  their  most  profound  mood 
in  their  saying,  "God's  greatness  lies  in  His  condescension, 
as  may  be  learned  from  the  Torah,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Writ- 
ings.   To  quote  only  Isaiah  also :  '  Thus  saith  the  High  and 

'  Mid.  Teh,  Fs.  CIII,  i ;  Sanh.  39  a. 

'See  Weber,  I.  c,  149  f.,  157;  Boussct,  I.  c,  302,  313;  von  Hartman:  Das 
religioese  Bnusstiein.  Against  this  Schreiner,  1.  c,  49-58,  and  Schechter,  As- 
pects, 23  f. 

» Mek.  and  Tanh.  to  Ex.  XV,  11. 

*  Dcut.  IV,  7  :  Ver.  Rer,  r\-.  13  a. 


mm 


^tjife 


w^..,^y,  ^'^'^iMi£mM^^»ASiSiSiim 


THE  ESSENCE  OF  GOD 


79 


Lofty  One,  I  dwell  in  high  and  holy  places,  with  him  that  is 
of  a  contrite  and  humble  spirit.' '  For  this  reason  Clod  selected 
as  the  place  of  His  revelation  the  humble  Sinai  and  the  lowly 
thornbush."^  In  fact,  the  absence  of  any  mediator  in 
Judaism  necessitates  the  doctrine  that  God  —  with  all  His 
transcendent  majesty  —  is  at  the  same  time  "an  ever  present 
helper  in  trouble,"^  and  that  His  omnijwtence  includes  care 
for  the  greatest  and  the  smallest  beings  of  creation.* 

lo.   The  doctrine  that  G(k1  is  above  and  beyond  the  uni- 
verse, transcending  all  created  things,  as  well  as  time  and 
space,  might  lead  logically  to  the  view  of  the  deist  that  He 
stands  outside  of  the  world,  and  does  not  work  from  within. 
But  this  inference  has  never  been  made  even  by  the  boldest 
of  Jewish  thinkers.     The  Psalmist  said,  "  Who  is  like  the  Lord 
our  God,  that  hath  His  seat  on  hli^h,  that  humbleth  Himself 
to  behold  what  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth?"  *  —  words  which 
expres.-,  the  deepest  and  the  loftiest  thought  of  Judaism. 
Beside  the  all-encompassing  Deity  no  other  divine  power  or 
personality  can  find  a  place.     God  is  in  all ;   He  is  over  all ; 
He  is  both  immanent  and  transcendent.     His  creation  was 
not  merely  setting  into  motion  the  wheels  of  the  cosmic  fabric, 
after  which  He  withdrew  fro  n  the  world.     The  Jew  praises 
Him  for  every  scent  and  sight  of  nature  or  of  human  life,  for 
the  beauty  of  the  sea  and  the  rainbow,  for  every  flash  of  light- 
ning that  illumines  the  darkened  clouds  and  every  peal  of 
thunder  that  shakes  the  earth.    On  every  such  occasion  the 
Jew  utters  praise  to  "Him  who  daily  renews  the  work  of 
Ci-eation,"  or  "Him  who  in  everlasting  faithfulness  keepeth 
His  covenant  with  mankind."     Such  is  the  teaching  of  the 
men  of  the  Great  Synagogue,^  and  the  charge  of  the  Jewish 

'  Isa.  LVII,  IS.     See  also  Deut.  X,  17-18;    Ps.  LXXXVI,  5-6.     Comp.  R. 
Johanan,  Meg.  31  a. 

»  Ex.  R.  II,  g ;  Mid.  Teh.  Ps.  LXVIII,  7.  «  Ps.  XLVI,  2. 

«  Ab.  Zar.  3  b.  .  Ps.  CXIII,  5,  6. 

•  Bcr.  60  b.     Singer's  Praycrbaok,  2gi. 


8o 


JEWISH  theoloc;y 


^ 


u 


h 


V-i 


God  idea  being  a  barren  and  abstract  transcendentalism  can 
be  urged  only  by  the  blindness  of  bigotry.' 

11.  The  interweaving  of  the  itLas  of  God's  immanence  and 
transcendency  is  shown  especially  in  two  fwems  embodied  in 
the  songs  of  the  Synagogue,  Ibn  Gabirol's  "  Crown  of  Royalty  " 
and  the  "Songs  of  Unity"  for  each  day  of  the  week,  com{)osed 
by  Samuel  ben  Kalonymos,  the  father  of  Judah  the  Pious  of 
Regcnsburg.  Here  occur  such  sentences  as  these  :  "All  is  in 
God  and  God  is  in  all";  "SufTicient  unto  Himself  and  self- 
determining.  He  is  the  ever-living  and  self-conscious  Mind, 
the  all-permeating,  all-impelling,  and  all-accomplishing  Will"  ; 
"The  universe  is  the  emanation  of  the  plenitude  of  God,  each 
part  the  light  of  His  infinite  light,  flame  of  His  eternal  em- 
pyrean" ;  "The  universe  is  the  garment,  the  covering  of  God, 
and  He  the  all-penetrating  Soul."'  All  these  ideas  were 
borrowed  from  neo-Platonism,  and  found  a  conspicuous  place 
in  Ibn  Gabirol's  philosophy,  later  influencing  the  Cabbalah. 

Similarly  the  appellation,  Makom,  "Space,"  is  explained  by 
both  Philo  and  the  rabbis  as  denoting  "  Him  who  encompasses 
the  world,  but  whom  the  world  cannot  encompass.'"  An 
utterance  such  as  this,  well-nigh  pantheistic  in  tone,  leads 
directly  to  theories  like  those  of  Spinoza  or  of  David  Nieto, 
the  well-known  London  Rabbi,  who  was  largely  under  Spino- 
zistic  influence*  and  who  still  was  in  accord  with  Jewish 
thought.  Certainly,  as  long  as  Jewish  monotheism  conceives 
of  God  as  self-conscious  Intellect  and  freely  acting  Will,  it 
can  easily  accept  the  principle  of  divine  immanence. 

12.  We  accept,  then,  the  fact  that  man,  child-like,  invests 
God  with  human  qualities,  —  a  view  advanced  by  Abraham 

'  On  pantheism  in  Judaism  see  Seligman,  1.  c. 

'  See  Sachs :  D.  religioese  Poesie  d.  Jitdcn.  in  Spanien,  225-228 ;  Kaufmann  : 
Slud.  u.  Solomon  Ihn  Gabirol. 

'See  Siegfried:  Philo,  199-203,  292;  Gen.  R.  LXVIII,  10;  comp.  Geiger: 
Zeitschr.,  XI,  218;    Hamburger:   R.  W.  B.,  II,  986. 

*  Sec  Gractz :  G.  d.  J.,  X,  319. 


THE  ESSENCE  OF  GOD 


8l 


ben  Davul  of  Posqulcrcs  in  opjwsitJDn  t«)  Maimonidcs.' 
Still,  the  thinkers  of  Judaism  have  ever  labored  to  divest  the 
Deity  of  every  vestige  oi  sensuousnes-i,  of  likeness  to  man,  in 
fact,  of  every  limitation  to  action  or  to  free  will.  Every  con- 
ception which  merges  G(k1  into  the  world  or  identities  Him 
with  it  and  thus  makes  Him  subject  to  necessity,  is  incom- 
patible with  t  e  Jewish  idea  of  Chh\,  which  enthrones  Him 
above  the  universe  as  its  free  and  sovereign  Master.  "Am  I 
a  God  near  at  hand,  saith  the  Lord,  and  not  a  G«k1  afar  off? 
Can  any  hide  himself  in  secret  places  that  I  shall  not  see  him  ? 
saith  the  Lord.  Lo  I  not  fill  heaven  and  earth?"*  "To 
whom  will  you  liken  Me,  that  I  should  be  equal?" ' 

'  See  Maimonides  :  //.  Teshubah,  III,  7  amJ  R.  .\.  B.  I).,  note*. 
•Jer.  XXIII,  2j.  »Isa.  XL,  as. 


if 


•if 


f 


CHAPTER  XIII 
The  One  and    anly  God 

1.  From  the  very  hoRinning  no  Jewish  doctrine  was  so 
firmly  proclaimed  and  so  heroically  defended  as  the  belief  in 
the  One  and  Only  God.  This  constitutes  the  essence  and 
foundation  of  Judaism.  However  slowly  the  people  learned 
that  there  could  he  no  gtnls  beside  the  One  GimI,  and  that 
consequently  all  the  pagan  deities  were  but  "naught  and 
vanity,"  the  Judaism  of  the  Torah  starts  with  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Only  One,  and  later  Judaism  marches  through  the 
nations  and  ages  of  history  with  a  never-silent  protest  against 
polytheism  of  every  kind,  against  every  division  of  the  God- 
head into  parts,  powers,  or  persons. 

2.  It  is  perfectly  clear  that  divine  pedagogy  could  not  well 
have  demanded  of  a  people  immature  and  untrained  in  re- 
ligion, like  Israel  in  the  wilderness  period,  the  immediate 
belief  in  the  only  one  God  and  in  none  else.  Such  a  belief  is 
the  result  of  a  long  mental  process ;  it  is  attained  only  after 
centuries  of  severe  struggle  and  crisis.  Instead  of  this,  the 
Decalogue  of  Sinai  demandeil  of  the  people  that  they  worship 
only  the  God  of  the  Covenant  who  had  delivered  them  from 
Egy}>t  to  render  them  His  people.'  But,  as  they  yielded  more 
and  more  to  the  seductive  worship  of  the  gods  of  the  Canaanites 
and  their  other  neighbors,  the  law  became  more  rigid  in  pro- 
hibiting such  idolatrous  practices,  and  the  prophets  poured 
forth  their  unscathing  wrath  against  the  "stiff-necked  people" 

»  Lev.  XIX,  4 :  XX\%  I ;  I?ahh  !!,.«,!!;  PfAlm  XCVI,  5. 

83 


m'^m^mm 


THE  ONE  AND  ONLY  GOD 


8j 


and  rndf.ivoml  by  unrcasinR  warninKs  and  threats  to  win 
them  fur  Ihi'  pure  truth  of  ninrK.theism.' 

3.   The  (Irwl  of  Sinai  prodaims  Himself  in  the  I)eralo>juc 
as  a  "jealous  (i(wl,"  and  not  in  vain.     Ho  cannot  tohrate 
other  Kods  lusidr  Hinisilf.      Iruth  (an  make  no  eoruession 
to  untruth,  nor  enter  into  any  lompromise  with  it  without 
se!f-surren<ier.     A  f)aKan  religion  rould  well  alTord  to  admit 
foreign  gods  into  its  panthi-on  without  offending  the  ruling 
deities  of  the  lan<l.     On   the  contrary,   their  realm  seemed 
rather  to  he  enlarged  hy  the  addition.     It  was  also  easy  to 
blend  the  <  ults  of  dtitiis  originally  distinet  and  unite  many 
divinities  under  a  eomposite  name,  and  by  this  protess  create 
a  system  of  worshij)  which  would  either  c«)mi)rise  the  gods  of 
many  lands  or  even  merge  them  into  one  large  family.     This 
was  actually  the  state  of  the  various  pagan  religions  at  the 
time  of  the  decline  of  anticiuity.     Hut  such  a  procedure  could 
never  lead  towards  true  monotheism.     It  lacks  the  concep- 
tion of  an  inner  unity,  without  which  its  followers  could  not 
grasp  the  true  idea  of  (Jod  as  the  soun  e  and  essence  of  all 
life,  both  f)hysical  and  spiritual.     Only  the  One  God  of  reve- 
lation made  the  worhl  really  one.     In  Him  alone  heaven  and 
earth,  day  and  night,  growth  and  decay,  the  weal  and  woe  of 
individuals  and  nations,  appear  as  the  work  of  an  all-ruling 
Power  and  Wisdom,  so  that  all  events  in  nature  and  history 
are  seen  as  parts  of  one  all-com{)rising  plan.^ 

4-  It  is  perfectly  true  that  a  wide  difference  of  view  exists 
between  the  prohibition  of  polytheism  and  idolatry  in  the 
Decalogue  and  the  proch^-ation  in  Deuteronomy  of  the  unity 
of  God,  and,  still  more,  between  the  law  of  the  Pentateuch 
and  the  prophetic  announcement  of  the  day  when  Israel's 

^JS,T^-^'l^^'''  '^•'^"•'«:  XXITI,,3;  withDeut.VI.4:  IV,3S,39; 
XXXII,  3g;  Isaiah  XL  to  XL\  III. 

•  See  Dnimann,  I.  c,  235-241 ;  D.  F.  Strauss,  1.  c,  402-408;  A.  B.  Davidson : 
Thfc-rOgy  of  0.  T.,  p.  105 ;  149  f. 


84 


JEWISH  THF.OUKiY 


M 


n 


Gtxl  "shall  he  King  of  the  whole  earth,  and  His  name  «*hall 
he  One."  '  Vet  Ju(lai>m  Is  hased  j)reciHely  u|H)n  this  higher 
view.  The  very  first  pa^es  of  Ciene^is,  the  «>|HninK  of  the 
Torah,  as  well  as  the  exilic  iM>rtions  of  Isaiah  whiih  form  the 
eulmination  of  the  prophet"*,  and  the  Psalms  also,  prove  sufli 
tieritly  that  at  their  time  nuinothei>m  was  an  axiom  of  Ju 
daism.  In  fa(t,  heathenism  had  hec«)me  synonymous  with 
holh  image  worship  and  helief  in  many  n<«ls  heside  the  Only 
One  of  Israel,  and  aeeonlinKly  ha<l  l«>st  all  hold  u|Min  the  Jewish 
people.  The  heathen  godswere  given  a  plaee  in  the  celestial 
economy,  hut  t)nly  as  suhordinate  rulers  or  as  the  guardian 
angels  of  the  nations,  and  always  under  the  dominion  of  God 
on  high.' 

5.  Later,  in  the  contert  against  Orxio  Kgyotian  paganism, 
the  doctrine  of  GihI's  unity  was  emphasized  in  the  Alexandrian 
propaganda  literature,  t)f  which  only  a  |)orlion  has  heen  pre- 
served for  us.  Here  antagonism  in  the  most  forcihle  form  is 
expressed  against  the  delusive  cults  of  paganism,  and  exclu- 
sive worship  claimed  for  "the  unseen,  yet  all-seeing  God,  the 
uncreated  Creator  of  the  world."  '  The  Rahhinical  Haggadah 
contains  but  <lim  reminiscences  of  the  extensive  propaganda 
carried  on  previous  to  Hillel,  the  Talmudic  type  of  the  propa- 
gandist. Moreover,  this  jx;riod  fostered  free  inquiry  and 
philosophical  discussion,  and  therefore  the  doctrine  of  unity 
emerged  more  and  more  from  simple  belief  to  become  a  matter 
of  reason.  The  God  of  truth  put  to  flight  the  gods  of  false- 
hood. Hence  many  gentiles  espoused  the  cause  of  Judaism, 
becoming  "God-fearing  men."  * 

6.  In  this  connection  it  seems  necessary  to  point  out  the 
difTerence  between  the  God  of  the  Greek  philosophers  — 
Xenophanes  and  Anaxagoras,  Plato  and  Aristotle  —  and  the 
God  of  the  Bi'ole.     In  abandoning  their  own  gods,  the  Greek 


«  Zrtch.  XIV,  Q. 

•  B"ussef,  I.  r.,  Jit  f.,  ^8, 


•Dcut.  IV,  19;  Jer.  X,  2. 
*  See  Chapter  LVI,  Mov. 


^K'^W- 


:  pr^r:  'im.lSyt  ^^^^^^^-^^ 


THE  ONK  AM)  ONLY  mi) 


8S 


philosophers  roachni  a  (kislii   vi.w  of  the-  losmus.     As  thrir 
Htmly  c.f  stifiuc  shuwicl  thtm  plan  an.l  onUr  .vtrywhcrf. 
thfy  n.fu  lu.L.I  thai  thi-  univtrM-  is  K.iv.rnnl  l)y  an  all  in- 
compassing  Int.lliKina-.  i  .livinr  (x.wrr  cntL.ly  disiin.  t  from 
the  iapri(ious  driiiis  of  the  jM.pular  rdiKion.     KifUtiion  Ir.l 
thrm  to  a  n.nipl.tc  rupture  with  ihtir  riliKi<»us  hflii-f.     The 
Hihiiral  luhVf  in  (i.MJ  un.lrrwenl  a  (lilTircnt  [mnvM.     After 
(mmI  ha.l  onte  l.ecn  ronieived  of,  Iff  was  held  up  as  the  ideal 
of  m.)rality.  indudin^  hoili  rinhteousness  an<l  holmess.     Then 
this  d.H  trine  was  continuously  eku  idated  and  dee|Kned,  until 
a  stage  was  rea.  lied  where  a  harmony  .culd  he  established 
between  the  teaehings  ..f  Mosts  and  the  wisd(.m  of  Plato  and 
Arisl<.tle.      To  the  nohlc  thinkers  of  Hellas  truth  was  an  ohjeet 
of  supreme  delight,  the  highest  privilege  of  the  sage.     To  the 
adherents  of  Judaism  truth  lieeame  the  holiest  aim  of  lift-  for 
the  entire  people,  for  whieh  all  were  taught  to  battle  and  to 
die.  as  did  the  Maicabean  herm-s  and  Daniel  ami  his  asso- 
ciates, their  prototy|H's. 

7.    A  .leeper  meaning  was  attached  to  the  doctrine  ..f  (iinl's 

unity  under  Persian  rule,  in  contact  with  the  religi..us  system 

of  Zoroaster.     To  the  Persians  life  was  a  continual  (onflii 

between  the  principles  of  good  and  of  evil,  until  the  ultimar. 

victory  of  good  shall  come.     This  duali.tic  view  of  the  worl  i 

greatly  excels  all  other  heathen  religious  systems,  insofar  as  it 

assigns  ethical  purpose  to  the  whole  of  life.     Vet  the  threat 

seer  of  the  K.vile  opposes  this  system  in  the  name  of  th.   (iod 

of  Judaism,  speaking  to  Cyrus,  the  king  of  Persia  ;   "I  am  the 

Lord  and  there  is  none  else;   beside  Me  there  is  no  God.     I 

will  gird  thee,  though  thou  dost  not  know  Me.  in  order  that 

the  people  shall  know  from  the  ri^'ng  of  the   sun   and    from 

the  west  that  there  is  none  besi.ie  Me.     I  form  the  n'ght  and 

create  darkness;   I  make  peace  and  also  create  evil.  I  am  the 

Lord  that  doeth  these  things."'     This  declaration  of  pure 

'  Isa.  XLV,  5-7. 


•2»^V,-??'W^-t^ 


T    -•  »•, 


»  a 


M    P 


86 


JF.WISM  tiif.ow)<;y 


|W 


monothi'Um  U  Intompatiblr  wiih  «lu;iliHm  in  \wth  the  phys- 
iial  arul  thr  moral  wurhl ,  it  rcKariln  evil  an  Iwinn  mere 
wmhiante  withciut  naiily.  arj  i»p|«»««inK  forte  whiih  «an  \w 
overi«»me  and  remlered  a  suurte  i)f  new  strenKth  for  the  vic- 
tory t)f  the  K(mm|,  'Oi.i  iif  il'e  mouth  of  the  Most  High 
Cometh  there  not  th«'  evil  and  thf  kimmI.''"  ' 

K.  The  «livi^ion  of  th.-  wori  I  into  rival  realms  of  ^immI  and 
evil  powers,  of  anjr<I!(  and  demoniacal  fone^,  whii  h  originated 
'  aiuiont  I'lialdea  and  underlies  the  Zoroanlrian  «lualism. 
finally  ttMik  hold  of  Judaism  also.  Still  tin's  was  not  tarried 
tt)  suth  an  extent  that  Satan,  the  supreme  ruler  t>f  the  demon 
w«)rl<l,  was  niven  a  tlominion  etpial  to  that  of  ('t«M|,  or  inter- 
fering with  it,  st>  as  to  impair  thereby  the  principle  of  mono- 
theism, as  was  tlone  by  the  Chun  h  later  on.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  at  the  time  of  nascent  Christianity  the  leaders  t)f  the 
SynagoRue  tot)k  ri^iil  measures  against  those  heretics  (Sfinim) 
wht)  believetl  in  two  ilivine  j)owers,'  because  they  recegni/xd 
the  grave  danger  t)f  moral  degeneracy  in  this  Gnostic  t|  jalism. 
In  the  Church  it  letl  first  to  the  tleificaiion  of  Christ  {i.e.  the 
Messiah)  as  the  vanquisher  t)f  Satan ;  afterwartis,  t)wing  tt>  a 
ct)mprt)mise  with  heathenism,  the  Trinity  was  adoptetl  to 
ct)rres{H)nd  with  the  three-ft)ld  gtKlhead,  father,  mt)ther, 
and  son,  -the  |)lacc  of  the  mother  tieity  being  taken  by  the 
Ht)ly  Ghost,  which  was  t)riginally  ct)nceived  as  a  female  |K)Wer 
(the  Syrian  Ruha  being  t)f  the  feminine  gender).' 

Q.  The  churchmen  have  attempted  t)ften  enough  tt)  har- 
mt)nizc  the  dualism  t)r  trinitarianism  t)f  Christianity  with  the 
monotheism  t)f  the  Bible.  Still  Judaism  persist.-,  in  consider- 
ing such  a.i  infringement  upt)n  the  belief  in  Israel's  one  and 
only  God   as  really  a  compromise  with  heathenism.     "A 

'  Urn.  III.  ,ia. 

*Shethe  Rfshuyoth,  sec  Hag.  15  a;  Deut.  R.  I.  10;  Eccl.  R.  II,  u;  Weber, 
I.  c,  152;  Ji)cl,  Bliikr  in  d.  Riligion^f^eich.,  H,  157. 

'  D.  F.  Strau-.,:;,  i.  c,  4=9  501 ;  J.  F.,  ,irt.  Chri.^tianity. 


■■'''f|5.^1SRWfrl!S<»PK?^;?'K7^ 


THE  ONE  AND  ONLY  tK)D 


87 


Jew  is  hf  who  i.|.|Mws  tviry  M.rt  i.f  jiolythcism,"  sayj.  ihc 
Talmuil  ' 

10.  The  ninlifval  Jtwi^h  tliiiikir^  thrrrf<»ri-  m.ulv  rv- 
<|oiihIf«l  ilTorls  til  ixprc^H  wild  utmii«.t  « karncHs  thr  «|.mriiie 
of  C,<h\\  unity  In  ihi^  i-lTort  thty  m .  ivnl  h|hi  i.il .  ti»  our  i^r- 
ni.  ijt  fr.irn  ihr  tx-irnph-  of  thr  Icachrs  of  Mam.  whoM-  vii  - 
toriouH  marth  ov.r  tlu-  kIoIm-  u  i>  a  triumph  f..r  tlu-  om  (itul 
of  Altriham  ovir  tlu-  triutu-  (..m|  uf  (•hii>(iauily.  A  urtat 
ticlr  of  iiitillr.  tual  pronrtsn  arosr,  hndinK'  to  tlu-  faith  of  the 
Mohammt-.lans  aru!  -^uhMHjutntly  also  to  thai  of  thi-  Jews  an 
lm|H-tu^  whi.  h  la-,t(-i|  for  (rtiturit-s.  Tl.,-  ru-w  thought  aiul  keen 
n-siarili  of  that  |Hrio<|  had  a  lasting  inllufnn-  Ufxin  tlu-  wholo 
dt-vrlopmciit  of  w«sttrn  rult.,rf.  An  allianif  w.-.s  i-lTi-itni 
bftwi-i-n  rtli-;ion  and  philosophy,  particularly  by  tlu-  k-ading 
Ji-wish  minds,  whirh  pn.vid  a  lilM-rating  and  slimulatinK  force 
in  all  lu-lds  of  .stit-ntitu  investigalion.  Thus  the  i)ure  idea 
of  monotheism  hecanu-  the  husis  for  modern  seienec  and  the 
entire  modern  world  vkwv' 

II.  The  M<  hammedan  thinkers  devoted  their  attention 
chiefly  to  eluddating  aiul  s{)irituali/.inK  the  (iod  i<ka,  begin- 
ning as  early  as  the  third  lentury  of  Islamism,  so  to  interpret 
the  Koran  as  to  divx-st  (;(mI  of  all  anthrojxjmorphie  attributes 
and  to  stress  His  absolute  unity,  unicjueness.  and  the  incom- 
parability  of  I!is  oneness.  Soon  they  became  familiar  with 
nco-Platonif  and  afterward  with  Aristotelian  modes  of  spetu- 
lation  through  the  work  of  Syrian  and  Jewish  translators. 
With  the  help  of  these  they  built  up  a  system  of  theology 
which  influenced  Jewish  thought  also,  first  in  Karaite  and  then 
in  Rabbanite  circles.'  Thus  s|)rang  up  successively  the  philo- 
sophical sy.stems  of  Saadia,  Jchuda  ha  Levi.  Ibn  (lal.irol, 
Bahya,  Ibn  Daud,  and  Maimonides.  The  philosophical  hymns 
and  the  articles  of  faith,  both  of  which  found  a  place  in  the  lit- 

I  ^I^K-  y  »;  '  Comp.  LatiRf  :   G,  w  //  d.  Materialimm,  I,  140   ,58. 

-  .Alfreti  y.  Kfcmcr,  i.  c,  y  s^,  J.  L.,  a»  I.  Arabic  and  /Vrabic-Jewish  ThiJosophy. 


j^uM- 


V4^, 


•>;;; 


88 


JEWISH  THEOLOGV 


i 


^  . 


I'f 


J 


I  i     * 


1 

m 


[|» 


s, 


urgy  of  the  Synagogue,  were  the  work  of  their  followers.  The 
highest  mode  of  adoring  Cn)d  seemed  to  be  the  elalioration  of 
the  idea  of  H's  unity  to  its  logical  conclusion,  which  satisfied 
the  philosophical  mind,  though  often  remote  from  the  under- 
standing of  the  multitude.  For  centuries  the  supreme  effort 
of  Jewish  thought  was  to  remove  Him  from  the  possibility  of 
comparison  with  any  other  being,  and  to  abolish  every  con- 
ception which  might  impair  Hi;  j'bsolutc  and  simple  unity. 
This  mental  activity  filled  the  dwellings  of  Israel  with  light, 
even  when  the  darkness  of  ignorance  covered  the  lands  of 
Christendom,  dispelled  only  here  and  there  by  rays  of  knowl- 
edge emanating  from  Jewish  quarters.* 

12.  The  proofs  of  the  unity  of  v^od  adduced  by  Moham- 
medan and  Jewish  thinkers  were  deri>'ed  from  the  rational 
order,  design,  and  unity  of  the  cosmos,  and  from  the  laws  of 
the  mind  itself.  These  aided  in  ndowing  Judaism  with  a 
power  of  conviction  which  rendered  futile  the  conversionist 
efforts  of  the  Church,  with  its  arguments  and  its  tnreats. 
Israel's  only  One  proved  to  be  tb^;  God  of  truth,  high  and 
holy  to  both  the  mind  and  the  heart.  The  Jewish  masters  of 
thought  rendered  Him  the  highest  object  of  their  speculation, 
only  to  bow  in  awe  before  Him  who  is  beyond  all  human 
ken ;  the  Jewish  mu/tyrs  likewise  cheerfully  offered  up  their 
lives  in  His  honor ;  and  thus  all  hearts  echoed  the  battle-cry 
of  the  centuries,  "Hear  O  Israel,  the  Lord  our  God,  the  Lord 
is  One,"  and  all  minds  were  illumined  by  the  radiant  hope, 
"The  Lord  will  be  King  of  the  earth;  on  that  day  the  Lord 
shall  be  One,  and  His  name  shall  be  One." 

13.  Under  all  conditions,  however,  the  doctrine  of  unity 
remained  free  from  outward  compulsion  and  full  of  intrinsic 
vigor  and  freshness.  There  was  still  room  for  differences  of 
opinion,  such  as  whether  God's  life,  power,  wisdom,  and  unity 
are  attributes  —  distinct  from  His  being,  and  qualifying  it,  — 


1  "^ 


ee  Drnprr*?.  Cnujlirt  hf.t'j>eev.  Religion  and  S.ciewe. 


•jB»iiM^i<>W»i~Jft*«BgM^^Mill«»«ilWy«C^^;»  ^Mff '-jafcfllWUtWi^llHlLiiai    tf-'.lVKiwr.- 


THE  ONE  AND  ONLY  GOD 


89 


or  whether  they  are  inherent  in  His  nature,  comprising  His 
very  essence.  This  controversy  aimed  to  determine  the  con- 
ception of  God.  cither  by  Aristotelian  rationalism,  as  repre- 
sented by  Maimonides,  or  by  the  positive  reh'gious  assumptions 
of  Crescas  and  others. 

This  is  Maimonides'  statement  of  the  unity:  "God  is  one; 
that  is.  He  is  unlike  any  other  unit,  whether  made  one  in 
point  of  numbe     or  species,  or  by  virtue  of  composition,  sepa- 
ration, and  simplification.     He  is  one  in  Himself,  there  being 
no  multiplicity  in  Him.     His  unity  is  beyond  all  definition  "  ' 
Ibn  Gabirol  in  his  "Cro^vn  of  Royalty"  puts  the  same 
thought  mto  poetic  form:  "One  art  Thou;   the  wise  wonder 
at  the  mystery  of  Thy  unity,  not  knowing  what  it  is.     One 
art  Thou ;  not  like  the  one  of  dimcnsiim  or  number,  as  neither 
addition  nor  change,   neither  attribute   nor  quality  affects 
Thy  being.     Thou  art  God,  who  sustainest  all  beings  by  Thy 
divinity,  who  boldest  all  creatures  in  Thy  unity.     Thou  art 
God,  and  there  is  no  distinction  between  Thy  unity    Thy 
eternity,  and  Thy  being.     All  is  mystery,  and  however  the 
names  may  differ,  they  all  tell  that  Thou  art  but  one."  2 

14.   Side  by  side  with   this  rationalistic  trend,  Judaism 
always  contained  a  current  of  mysticism.    The  mystics  ac- 
cepted literally  the  anthropomorphic  pictures  of  the  Deity  in 
the  Bible,  and  did  not  care  how  much  they  might  affect  the 
spirituality  and  unity  of  God.     The  philosophic  schools  had 
contended  against  the  anthropomorphic  views  of  the  older 
mystics,  and  thus  had  brought  higher  \iews  of  the  Godhead 
to  dominance;    but  when  the  rationalistic  movement  had 
spent  Its  force,  the  reaction  came  in  the  form  of  the  Cabbalah 
the  secret  lore  which  claimed  to  have  been  "transmitted" 
(according  to  the  meaning  of  the  word)  from  a  hoary  past 
The  older  system  of  thought  had  stripped  the  Deity  of  all 
reality  and  had  robbed  religion  of  all  positiveness ;   now.  in 

'Maim.:   Vesoae  ha  Torah.I,  7.  '  Sachs,  I.  c.  3. 


'»«r*  ,">rtts#i.Tl.i*BI.»«\'r  i<"- .,  ^nt-^'wrstk «• 


90 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


i 


■  1 

■i 


■I 


contrast,  the  soul  demanded  a  God  of   revelation  through 
faith  in  whom  might  come  exaltation  and  solace.* 

Nevertheless  the  Maimonidean  articles  of  faith  were  adopted 
into  the  liturgy  because  of  their  emphasis  on  the  absolute  unity 
and  indivisibility  of  God,  by  which  they  constituted  a  vigor- 
ous protest  against  the  Christian  dogma.  Judaism  ever  found 
its  strength  in  God  the  only  One,  and  will  lind  Him  ever 
anew  a  source  of  inspiration  and  rejuvenation. 

•  See  Schmiedl,  1.  c,  239-258. 


»i  1 


I  '' 


n 


CHAPTER  XIV 

God's  Omnipotence  and  Omniscience 

I.  AmoMR  all  the  emotions  which  underlie  our  God-con- 
sciousness the  foremost  is  the  realization  of  our  own  weakness 
and  helplessness.  This  makes  us  lon^  for  One  mightier  than 
ourselves,  for  the  Almighty  whose  acts  are  beyond  comparison. 
The  first  attribute,  therefore,  with  which  we  feeble  mortals 
invest  our  Deity  is  omnipotence.  Thus  the  pagan  ascribes 
supreme  power  over  their  difTerent  realms  to  his  various  deities. 
Hence  the  name  for  God  among  all  the  Semites  is  El  —  "the 
Powerful  One."  '  Judaism  claims  for  God  absolute  and  un- 
limited power  over  all  that  is.  It  declares  Him  to  be  the  source 
and  essence  ot  all  strength,  the  almighty  Creator  and  Ruler 
of  the  universe.  All  that  exists  is  His  crcat  ion  ;  all  that  occurs 
is  His  achievement.  He  is  frequently  calletl  by  the  rabbis 
ha  Gebtirah,  the  Omnipotence.^ 

2.  The  historical  method  of  study  seems  to  indicate  that 
various  cosmic  potencies  were  worshiped  in  primitive  life 
cither  singly  or  collectively  under  the  name  of  Elo/iim,  "divine 
powers, "  or  Zibeoth  Elohim,  "  hosts  of  divine  powers. "  With 
the  acceptance  of  the  idea  of  divine  omnipotence,  these  were 
united  into  a  confederacy  of  divine  forces  under  the  dominion 
of  the  one  God,  the  "Lord  of  Hosts."  Still  these  powers  of 
heaven,  earth  and  the  deep  by  no  means  at  once  surrendered 
their  identity.  Most  of  them  became  angels,  " messengers"  of 
the  omnipotent  God,  or  "spirits"  roaming  in  the  realms 
where  once  they  ruled,  while  a  few  were  relegated  as  monsters 
to  the  region  of  superstition.    The  heathen  deities,  which 

•  See  Hebrew  Dictionary,  El;  c.-.-np.  Dillmann,  1.  c,  210,  244. 

•  See  Levy,  W.  B. :  Ceburah. 

91 


9a 


T»="WISFI  THEOLOGY 


•  *  I 

H    ■ 

['  ' 

hi 


I* 


persisted  for  a  while  in  popular  hcHi'f,  were  also  placed  with 
the  angels  as  "heavinly  rulers"  of  their  respective  lands  or 
nations  about  the  throne  of  the  Most  IFigh.  At  all  events, 
Israel's  (Jtxl  was  enthroned  above  them  all  as  L<jrd  of  the 
universe.  In  fact,  the  Alex,  lirian  translators  and  some  of  the 
rabbis  actually  explaini-d  in  this  sense  the  Biblical  names  El 
Slmddiii  and  J. II.  V. II.  /.vbaolh.^  The  medieval  philosophers, 
however,  took  a  backward  stej)  away  from  the  Biblical  view 
when,  under  the  inthienre  of  Xeoplatonism,  they  represented 
the  angels  and  the  spirits  of  the  stars  as  intermediary  forces.' 
3.  According  to  the  Bil)le,  both  the  Creation  and  the  order 
of  the  universe  testify  to  divine  omnipotence.  God  called 
all  things  into  e.v'stence  by  His  almighty  word,  unassisted  by 
His  heavenly  messengers.  He  alone  stretched  out  the  heavens. 
set  bounds  to  the  sea,  and  founded  the  earth  on  pillars  that 
it  be  not  moved  ;  none  was  with  Him  to  partake  in  the  work. 
This  is  the  process  of  creation  according  to  the  first  chapter 
of  Genesis  and  the  fortietli  chapter  of  Isaiah.  So  He  ap- 
pears throughout  tlie  Si  rii)tures  as  "the  Doer  of  wonders, " 
"whose  arm  never  waxes  short"  to  carry  out  His  will.  "He 
fainteth  not,  neither  is  He  weary."  His  dominion  extends 
over  the  sea  and  the  storm,  over  life  and  death,  over  high  and 
low.  Intermediary  forces  participating  in  His  work  are 
never  mentioned.  They  are  referrred  to  only  in  the  poetic 
description  of  creation  in  the  book  of  Job:  "Where  wast 
thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth  ?  .  .  .  When  the 
morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted 
for  joy." 3 

'  See  Septuagint  to  Job  V,  17;  \  '11,  3,  and  11  Sam.  V,  10;  VII,  8,  and 
Ber.  31  I). 

■  Sec  Schmicdl,  I.  c,  67  fT.  David  Xeumark  thinks  that  both  the  prophet 
Jeremiah  and  the  Mi>hnah  knew  and  rejected  the  belief  in  angels.  Sec  his 
article  Ikknrim  in  Ozar  Ha  N'ahduth. 

Hitn.  XVIII.  14;  Num.  .\[,  i?;  Is.  XT.,  12;  jor  V.  22:  X,  12;  XXVII, 
5;  XXXII,  17;  Zath.  VIII,  6;  Job  XXXVIII,  7;  XLII,  i.       '       ' 


GOD'S  OMNIPOTENCE  AND  OMNISCIENCE  93 

Proof  of  (iod's  supfL-mc  power  was  found  particularly  in 
history,  cither  in  His  miraculous  chanj;in<,'  of  the  natural 
order,  or  in  His  defeat  of  the  mighty  hostile  armies  whiih 
bade  Him  defiance.'  Often  the  heathen  deities  or  the  celestial 
powers  are  introduced  as  dramatic  figures  to  testify  to  the 
triumph  of  the  divine  omnipotence,  as  when  the  Lord  is  said 
to  "execute  judgment  aj^'ainst  the  gods  of  Fgypt"  or  when 
"the  stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  Sisera."  ^ 

4.  God's  power  is  limited  only  by  His  own  volition.  "He 
doeth  what  He  willeth." »  In  man  the  will  and  the  power 
for  a  certain  a'-t  are  far  apart,  and  often  directly  conflicting. 
Not  so  vvith  God.  for  the  very  idea  of  God  is  perfection,  and 
His  will  implies  necessarily  the  power  t-.  accomplish  the  desired 
end.  His  will  is  determined  onl>  by  such  factors  as  His 
knowledge  and  His  moral  .self-restraint. 

5.  Therefore  the  idea  of  God's  omnipotence  must  be  coupled 
with   that  of  His  omniscience.     Both   His  power  and  His 
knowledge  are  unlike   man's  in   being   without   limitation. 
When  we  repeat  the  Biblical  terms  of  an  all-seeing,  all-hearing, 
and  all-knowing  God,  we  mean  in  the  first  instance  that  the 
limitation  of  space  does  not  exist  for  Him.     He  beholds  the 
extreme  parts  of  theeaith  and  observes  all  that  happens  under 
the  heavens ;  nothing  is  hidden  from  His  sight.     He  not  only 
sees  the  deeds  of  men.  He  also  searches  their  thoughts.     Look- 
ing into  their  hearts.  He  knows  the  word,  ere  it  is  upon  the 
tongue.     Looking  into  the  future,  he  knows  every  creature 
ere  it  enters  existence.     "The  darkness  and  the  light  are  alike 
to  Him."     With  one  glance  He  surveys  all  tliat  is  and  all  that 
happens."     He  is,  as  the  rabbis  express  it,  "the  all-seeing  Eye 
and  the  all-hearing  Ear."  ^ 

'Deut.  Ill,  24;  XI,  3;  XXVI,  8;  XXIX,  2;  Jcr.  X,  6;  Ps  t.XV  t 
LXVI,  7;   I.XIV-1.XXVIII;   I  Chron.  .\XIX,  11,12. 

«  Ex.  XII,  12 ;  JudKes  V,  lo.  3  Daniel  IV  3? 

«Ps.  XI,  4;  XXXIII,  13  f.;  CXXXIX:  Jer.  XI.  20:  XVII  i«-  Tob 
XIi,  13 ;  Dan.  II,  20  f.  t  ^both  II,  i.     '   ' 


94 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


''I 


t 
I  *  ; 


li 


■1; 

[ft) 
t    i  ' 

in 


il 


i! 


In  like  manner  the  distinctions  of  time  disappear  before 
Him.  The  entire  past  is  unrolled  before  His  sij^ht ;  His  book 
records  all  that  men  do  or  suffer,  even  their  'ears ; '  and  there 
is  no  forgetfulness  with  Him.  The  remotest  future  alst)  is 
open  before  Him,  for  it  is  planned  by  Him,  and  in  it  He  has 
allotted  to  each  being  its  days  and  its  steps.*  Yea,  as  He 
beholds  events  ere  they  transpire,  so  He  reveals  the  secrets  of 
the  future  to  His  chosen  ones,  in  order  to  warn  men  of  the 
judgments  that  threaten  them.' 

6.  The  idea  of  divine  omniscience  could  ripen  only  gradually 
in  the  minds  of  the  people.  The  older  and  more  child-like 
conception  still  remains  in  the  stories  of  the  Deluge  and  the 
Tower  of  Babel,  where  God  descended  from  heaven  to  watch 
the  doings  of  men,  and  repented  of  what  He  had  done.*  Ob- 
viously the  idea  of  divine  omniscience  took  hold  of  the  people 
as  a  result  of  the  admonitions  of  the  prophets. 

7.  Philosophical  inquiry  into  the  ideas  of  the  divine  omnip- 
otence and  omniscience,  however,  discloses  many  difficulties. 
The  Biblical  assertion  that  nothing  is  impossible  to  God  will 
not  stand  the  test  as  soon  as  we  ask  seriously  whether  God 
can  make  th<  untrue  true,  —  as  making  two  times  two  to 
equal  five  —  or  whether  He  can  declare  the  wrong  to  be  right. 
Obviously  He  cannot  overturn  the  laws  of  mathematical  truth 
or  of  moral  truth,  without  at  the  same  time  losing  His  nature 
as  the  Source  and  Essence  of  all  truth.  Nor  can  He  abrogate 
the  laws  of  nature,  which  are  really  His  own  rules  for  His 
creation,  without  detracting  from  both  His  omniscience  and 
the  immutability  of  His  will.  This  question  will  be  discussed 
more  fully  in  connection  with  miracles,  in  chapter  XXVH. 

Together  with  the  problem  of  the  divine  omniscience  arises 
the  difficulty  of  reconciling  this  with  our  freedom  of  will  and 

>  Ma!.  Ill,  16 ;  Ps.  LVI,  g. 

'  See  New  Year  liturgy',  Singer's  Prayerbook,  249. 

*  Amos  III,  7. ,  Gen.  XVIII,  17.  '  Gen.  VI,  5 ;  XI,  5 ;  XVIII,  21. 


GODS  OMNIPOTENCE  AND  ONfNISriENCE  95 

our  moral  rosponsihility.  Would  not  His  f.ircknowlcdge  of 
our  actions  in  effect  determine  them?  This  diffuulty  can 
only  be  solved  by  a  proper  conception  of  the  freedom  of  the 
will,  and  will  be  discussed  in  that  connection  in  chapter 
XXXVII.  ^ 

Altogether,  we  must  guard  against  applying  our  human  type 
of  knowledge  to  (iod,  Man.  limited  by  si)are  and  time 
obtams  his  knowledge  of  things  and  events  by  his  senses' 
becoming  aware  of  them  sq)arately  as  they  exist  either  beside 
each  other  or  in  succession.  With  God  all  knowledge  is 
complete ;  there  is  no  growth  of  knowledge  from  yesterday  to 
to-day.  no  knowledge  of  only  a  part  instead  of  the  whole  of 
the  world.  His  omniscience  and  omnijiotence  are  bound  up 
with  His  omnipresence  and  eternity.  "For  My  thoughts  are 
not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  My  ways,  .saith 
the  Lord.  For  as  the  heavens  ore  higher  than  the  earth  so 
are  My  ways  higher  than  your  ways,  and  My  thoughts  than 
your  thoughts."  » 

'  Isa.  LV,  8,  9. 


',i 


il  ! 


w 
1 


CIIAPTKR  XV 

Con's  Omntprf.skn(  K  and  Ktkrnity 

1.  As  soon  as  man  awakens  to  a  hi^'hcr  consi iousnoss  of 
God.  he  rt-ali/cs  tho  vast  distancf  hotwn-n  his  own  finite 
bfinf:  limited  l)y  s|)aii-  and  linu-,  an<l  the  Inlinite  Bcin^'  whith 
rules  everywhere  and  unceasingly  in  lofty  grandeur  and  un- 
limited power.  His  very  sense  of  beinR  hedged  in  by  the 
bounds  and  imperfectit)ns  of  a  fmite  existent  e  makes  him  lonf? 
for  the  inlinite  (lod,  unlimited  in  mi^ht,  and  brings  to  him 
the  feeling  of  awe  before  His  greatness.  But  this  conception 
of  (iod  as  the  omnipresent  and  everlasting  Spirit,  as  distinct 
from  any  created  being,  is  likewise  the  result  of  many  stages 
of  growing  thought. 

2.  The  primitive  mind  imagines  (iod  as  dwelling  in  a 
lofty  place,  whence  He  rules  the  eart'i  beneath,  descending 
at  times  to  take  i)art  in  the  affairs  of  nun,  to  tarry  among 
them,  or  to  walk  with  them.'  The  people  adheretl  largely  to 
this  concepticm  during  the  Bil)lical  period,  as  they  considered 
as  the  original  .sc.it  of  the  Deity,  first  Paradise,  later  on  Sinai 
or  /ion,  and  finally  the  far-off  heavens.  It  required  prophetic 
virion  to  discern  that  "the  heavens  and  the  heavens'  heavens 
do  not  encompass  (lod's  majesty,"  expressed  also  in  poetic 
imagery  that  "the  heaven  is  My  throne  and  the  earth  My 
footstool."  -  The  classic  form  of  this  idea  of  the  divine  omni- 
present e  is  found  in  the  oft-quoted  passage  from  Psalm 
CXXXIX  ' 

'  (Jen.  IV,  16;  XI,  5;  XVIir,  21;  XXVIII,  16;  Dcut.  XXVI,  15;  Micah 
I,  3 ;   see  Strains  I-  c.,  I,  548  f. 

- 1  KinRs  VIII,  .'7 ;  Isa.  LXVI,  i.  'See  above,  Chapter  XII,  5. 

96 


m^y^'m:'-'m-^&-M4.: 


GODS  OMNIPRESENCE   AND   ETERNITY 


97 


,V  The  dwelling  pl.u  ch  of  (mkI  an-  ti.  Kive  way  the  moment 
His  omnipresence  is  understtMMl  as  penetratiny  the  universe  to 
siu  h  an  extent  that  nothing  estajn-s  His  jjlam c  nor  lies  with- 
out His  dominion.'  They  are  then  transfurnnd  into  pkues 
where  He  had  manifeste  I  His  Name,  His  (dory,  or  His  Pres- 
ence ("  Countenance,"  in  the  Hebrew).  In  this  way  certain 
emanations  or  powers  of  (J«hI  were  formed  which  could  he 
IcK-ated  in  a  t crtain  spac  e  without  impairing  the  divine  omni- 
presence. These  intermediary  powers  will  be  the  theme  of 
chapter  XXX H. 

The  following  dialogue  illustrates  this  stage  of  thought: 
A  heretic  once  said  sarcastically  to  Gamaliel  II,  "\v  say  that 
where  ten  persons  assemble  for  worship,  there  the  divine 
majesty  (Sfiekina/i)  descends  upon  them;  how  many  such 
majesties  are  there?"  To  which  (iamaliel  replied:  "Does 
not  the  one  orb  t)f  day  send  forth  a  million  rays  upon  the  earth  ? 
And  should  not  the  majesty  of  Ciod.  which  is  a  million  times 
brighter  than  the  sun,  be  reflected  in  every  sjjot  on  earth?"  * 

4.  Nevertheless  a  conception  of  pure  sj)irit  is  verydifHcult 
to  attain,  even  in  regard  to  God.  The  thought  of  His  omni- 
presence is  usually  interpreted  by  imagining  some  ethereal 
substance  which  expands  infinitely,  as  Ibn  Kzra  and  Saadia 
before  him  were  inclined  to  do,'  or  by  picturing  Him  as  a 
sort  of  all-encompassing  Space,  in  accordance  with  the 
rabbis.*  The  New  Testament  writers  and  the  Church  fathers 
likewise  spoke  of  (kkI  as  Spirit,  but  really  had  in  mind,  for 
the  most  part,  an  ethereal  ..ubstance  resembling  light  pervad- 
ing cosmic  space.  The  often-expressed  belief  that  man  may 
see  God  after  death  rests  upon  this  conception  of  God  as  a 
substance  perceptible  to  the  mind.^ 

>  Comp.  .\mos  IX,  2 ;  Jtr.  XXIII,  24.  '  Sanh.  .30  a. 

•Comp.  Kaufmann,  I.  i.,  70  and  71,  notes  130.  1,51  ;  Strauss,  I.  c,  I,  551. 
*  Makom,  see  aI>ove,  Chapter  X,  S-q;  Scha  liter.  .ls/),'./.v,  26  f. 
»Luk.  45  b;   comp.  I  Corinth.  XIII,  12.  based  on  E.x.  XXXIII.  j8;   Ps. 
XVII,  15 


98 


JEWISH  TMKOLOGY 


ii 


M 

i 


A  higher  stancl{K)lnt  is  taken  by  a  thinker  such  as  Ibn 
Gabirul,  who  finds  CicKl's  omnipresence  in  His  all-pervading 
will  and  intellect.'  But  this  tyjM?  of  divine  omnipresence  is 
rather  divine  immanence.  The  religious  consciousness  has  a 
quite  ditlerent  picture  of  (;»mI,  a  self -const  ious  Personality, 
ever  near  to  man.  ever  s<  anning  his  acts,  his  thoughts,  and  his 
motives.  Here  philosophy  and  religion  part  company.  The 
former  must  abstain  from  the  assumption  <»f  a  divine  perst>n- 
ality;  the  latter  cannot  do  without  it.  The  (kmI  of  religion 
must  partake  of  the  knowledge  and  the  feelings  of  His  wor- 
8hi|)er,  must  know  his  ev.-ry  impulse  and  idea,  and  must  feel 
with  him  in  his  suffering  .ind  need.  (hkI's  omnipresence  is  in 
this  sense  a  fwjstulate  of  religion. 

5-  The  second  earthly  and  human  limitation  is  that  of  time. 
C«  nfined  by  space  and  time,  man  casts  his  eyes  upward  toward 
a  Being  who  shall  be  infmite  and  eternal.  Whatever  time 
begets,  time  swallows  up  again.  Transitorinc.^s  is  the  fate  of 
all  things.  Everything  which  enters  existence  must  end  at 
last.  "Also  heaven  and  earth  perish  and  wax  old  like  a 
garment.  Only  Ciod  remains  forever  the  same,  and  His  years 
have  no  end.  He  is  from  cverlastirig  to  everlasting,  the  first 
and  the  last."  So  speak  prophet  and  f)salmist,  voicing  a 
universal  thought'-';   and  our  liturgical  poet  sings: 

"The  Lord  of  all  did  reign  supreme 
Ere  yet  this  world  was  made  and  formed; 
When  all  was  finished  by  His  will, 
Then  was  His  name  as  King  proclaimed. 

"And  should  these  forms  no  m<jre  exist. 
He  still  will  rule  in  majesty; 
He  was,  He  is.  He  shall  remain, 
His  glory  never  shall  decrease."  ' 

'  Sec  Kaufmann,  I,  c,  loo  f. 

'  Isa.  Xl.Vni,  u  ;   Ps.  XC,  2  f. ;  CII,  2f),  27.    On  the  process  of  develop- 
ment of  the  idea  of  eternity,  see  Xeumark,  1.  c,  \\,  77. 
'  Aden  Olam.  Si.lgi'r'fl  PniyfJrhiyc.b,  p   3. 


■».  'Tri'.vr."  -zrv  j 


GODS  OMNIPRESENCK  AND   ETERNITY  oq 

6.  But  the  Idea  of  CwmI'h  cte-rnity  aUo  prcM-nts  certain 
dlffuullles  to  the  thinking  mind.  As  Creator  and  Author  of 
the  univ.TM',  (km!  is  the  First  Cause,  without  beKinning  or 
end,  the  Soura-  of  all  existence;  as  Ruler  an«l  Master  of  the 
worhl,  He  maintains  ali  things  through  all  eternity ;  though 
heaven  and  earth  "  wax  old  like  a  garment."  H.-  outlast*  them 
all.  Now,  if  He  is  to  manifest  thc«se  (>ower»  from  everlasting 
to  everlasting,  Hr  must  ever  remain  the  same,  ('(msequently, 
we  must  add  immutability  as  a  corollary  of  eternity,  if  the 
latter  is  to  mean  anything.  It  is  not  emmgh  to  state  that  G(xl 
is  without  beginning  and  without  end ;  the  essential  part  of 
the  doctrine  is  His  transccmlence  above  he  i  hanges  and  ton- 
diti.)ns  of  time.  We  mortals  eanm>t  really  entertain  a  eon- 
cepli<.n  of  eternity;  our  nearest  approach  to  it  i.s  an  emiless 
succession  .)f  |)eri.>ds  of  time,  a  ceaseless  processi.)n  of  ages  and 
eons  following  each  other.  'Indless  time  is  not  at  all  thesameas 
timelessness.  Therefore  nity  signifies  transcendence  above 
all  existence  in  time;   its  .  al  meaning  is  supermundai         > 

7.  This  seems  the  best  way  to  avoid  the  dinkulty  u 
seeme<l  almost  insuperable  to  the  medieval  thinkers,  how  to 
reconcile  a  Creation  at  a  certain  time  and  .,  Creator  for  whom 
time  does  not  exist.  In  the  elTort  to  solve  the  dimculty,  they 
resorted  to  the  Platonic  and  Aristotelian  definition  of  time  as 
the  result  of  the  motions  of  the  heavenly  bwlies ;  thus  they 
declared  that  time  was  created  simultaneously  with  the  world. 
This  is^  impossible  for  the  modern  thinker,  who  has  learn  .1 
from  Kant  to  regard  time  and  space,  not  as  external  realiti  ;, 
but  as  human  modes  of  apperce[)tion  of  objects.  So  the  con- 
trast between  the  tran>ient  character  of  the  world  and  the 
eternity  of  God  becomes  all  the  greater  with  the  increasing 
realization  of  the  vast  gap  between  the  material  world  and  the 
divine  spirit. 

'  See  Strauss,  I.  c,  562,  651 ;    Kaufmann,  1.  c.  .?o6  f.:  Drummnn,!    pi./, 
11,46.  ■  ^"~^' 


'.  •  r"»TZ>Tvr  ■'■ifj.'ai  •-_■!«:;>  rai    -• 


too 


JEWISH    rHK.{)L(K;V 


'X 


».;  t 


At  thi*  |H)lr»;  urin-H  a  still  uriMti-r  dirluully  'I'lu-  vrry  i«lca 
of  iTc-atioti  ut  a  lorf.uii  tinw  btmincji  untftj.ibli-  in  viow  of  our 
kmmlclKc  of  the  natural  priHr-^H;  the  univiTHc  itM-lf,  it  %eem* 
to  UH,  oxtiu«U  over  an  infinity  of  %patt'  and  time  lnclee«l. 
the  m<H|»rn  view  of  evolution  in  pla(  e  at  t  reation  han  the  grave 
«iani;er  of  Icaelinij  to  panthei^sm,  to  a  ronieption  of  the  lo^mos 
whith  MIS  in  tio<|  only  an  eternal  energy  (or  suhstante)  de- 
void of  free  volition  and  srif  lonnt  ious  a«  tion.'  We  < an  evade 
the  difVuulty  only  hy  assuming  (IimI'h  trans* endeme.  and  this 
tan  be  don.  in  sin  h  a  way  as  not  to  exclude  His  imm  uimte, 
or       wliat  is  the  same  tliinif       His  omnipresent e. 

8.  B«)lh  (icMl's  omni'Tesi-iue  and  His  eternity  are  intended 
only  to  raise  Him  far  af)ove  the  world,  out  «»f  the  ionfinen  of 
spare  ami  time,  to  represent  His  sublime  loftiness  as  the 
"Roik  of  A;?es,"  as  holding  worlds  without  numf)er  in  "His 
eternal  arms."  "Xothinn  lan  be  hi<lden  from  Him  who  has 
reared  the  entire  universe  and  is  familiar  with  every  part  of  it, 
however  remote."  '^ 

'  S«T  Chapti-r  XXV  IkIow 

» Tanfi.  Nmo  cd.  Bubcr,  8;  Gen.  R   IX.  y  with  reference  to  Jcr.  XXIII,  34. 


A  '  \ 


il  V 


I  ' 
I  : 


It! 


cnArn'KR  xvi 

God's  Hoi.inf.hs 


1.  Juclahm  rcroKni/tH  two  di^ttiiui  type*  o^  tllvine  attri 
butcH.  ThftM*  whith  w«'  have  -«»  far  jcuisiilrrnl  bflonfj  io  the 
motaphysital  group,  whiih  thicfly  I'l'^UKf  th_  altciition  of 
thf  philos«)plier.  Thi-y  rfpn-M-nl  (io<l  as  a  transccn<li-rital 
HfiiiK  who  is  ever  beyond  our  eomprehetision.  Iieiau.se  our 
finite  intellei  t  can  never  Krasp  the  inlirute  Spirit  They  are 
not  descriptions.  l)Ut  rather  inferenej-s  from  the  work'  of  the 
Master  «)f  the  worM  to  the  Masirr  him-elf.  Hut  there  are 
other  ilivine  atlrib^ites  whirh  we  dcriv*-  from  our  own  moral 
nature,  and  whiih  invest  t)ur  whole  life  with  a  higher  moral 
character.  Instead  of  arising  from  the  external  necessit/ 
which  governs  nature  in  its  causes  and  effects,  these  rest  u|M>n 
our  a.sHumj)tion  of  inner  free«lom,  setting  the  aims  for  all  that 
we  achieve.  This  moral  i.ature  is  realized  to  some  e.\lent  e  en 
by  the  savage,  when  he  trembles  before  his  deity  in  pangs  of 
conscienie,  or  endeavors  to  propitiate  him  by  s.u  rit'ues.  Still, 
Judaism  alone  lUlly  realized  the  moral  nature  of  the  Deity; 
this  was  done  by  investing  the  term  "holines,"  with  the  idea 
of  mor.d  perfection,  so  that  (iod  became  the  ideal  and  pattern 
of  the  loftiest  morality.  "Be  ye  holy,  for  I  the  I.ord  your 
God  am  holy."  '  — 'I'his  is  the  central  and  culminating  idea  of 
the  Jewish  law.- 

2.  Holiness  is  the  essence  of  all  mor;'     jM-rirttion  ;    it   is 
purity  unsullied  by  any  br»'ath  of  evil.     'I  rue  holiness  can  be 


'Lev.     IX.  I. 

•Comp.  ninrnar-.!. 


so;;  Lazarus:  £/A»a  o/y«</a«jm,  Chapters  l\-V. 

lOl 


,h-<T.  !    r  .  4-t- 


% 


102 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


ill 
i 


f 


\b   i 

Is 

1  ■  t 


1' 


I?  1 


11' 


ascribed  only  to  Divinity,  above  the  realm  of  the  flesh  and  the 
senses.  "There  is  none  holy  but  the  Lord,  for  there  is  none 
beside  Thee,"  says  Scripture.'  Whether  man  stands  on  a  lower 
or  higher  level  of  culture,  he  has  in  all  his  plans  and  aspirations 
some  ideal  of  perfection  to  which  he  may  never  attain,  but 
which  serves  as  the  standard  for  his  actions.  The  best  of  hi^ 
doings  falls  short  of  what  he  ought  to  do  ;  in  his  highest  efforts 
he  realizes  the  potentiality  of  better  things.  This  ideal  of 
moral  perfection  works  as  the  motive  power  of  the  will  in  setting 
for  it  a  standard  ;  it  establishes  human  freedom  in  place  of 
nature's  compulsion,  but  such  an  ideal  can  emanate  only  from 
the  moral  power  ruling  life,  which  we  designate  as  the  divine 
Holiness. 

3-  Scripture  says  of  God  that  He"walketh  in  holiness,'"  and 
accordingly  morality  in  man  is  spoken  of  as  "walking  in  the 
ways  of  God."  3  "Walk  before  Me  and  be  perfect!"  says 
God  to  Abraham.*  Moses  approached  God  with  two  petitions, 
—  the  one,  "Show  me  Thy  ways  that  I  may  know  Thee !  "  the 
other,  "Show  me,  I  pray  Thee,  Thy  glory !"  In  response  to 
the  latter  God  said.  "No  man  can  see  Me  and  live",  but  the 
former  petition  was  granted  in  that  the  Lord  revealed  Himself 
in  His  moral  attributes.*  These  alone  can  be  understood  and 
emulated  by  man ;  in  regard  to  the  .so-called  metaphysical 
attributes:  God  will  ever  remain  beyond  human  comprehension 
and  emulation. 

4-  In  order  to  serve  as  vehicle  for  the  expression  of  the 
highest  moral  perfection,  the  Biblical  term  for  holiness,  Kadosit, 
had  to  undergo  a  long  process  of  development,  obscuring  its 
original  meaning.  The  history  of  this  term  gives  us  the 
deepest  insight  into  the  working  of  the  Jewish  genius  towards 
the  full  revelation  of  the  God  oi  holiness.     At  first  the  word 

'ISam.  II.  21.  '  Ps.  LXXVII,  14. 

»  Deut.  X.  12  ;  XI,  22,  and  elsewhere. 

*  Gen.  XVIII,  19.  t  e.x.  XXXIII,  13-23. 


GODS  HOLINESS 


103 


Kadosh '  seems  to  have  denoted  unapproachablencss  in  the 
sense  in  which  fire  is  unapproachable,  that  is,  threatening  and 
consuming.  This  fiery  nature  was  ascribed  by  primitive  man 
♦">  all  divine  beings.  Hence  the  angels  are  termed  "the  holy 
ones"  in  Scripture.^  According  to  both  priestly  practice  and 
popular  belief,  the  man  who  ajiproached  one  of  these  holy 
ones  with  hand  or  foot,  or  even  with  his  gaze,  was  doomed  to 
die.^  Out  of  such  crude  tonceptiotn  evolved  the  idea  of 
God's  majesty  as  unapproachable  in  the  sense  of  the  sublime, 
banishing  everything  profane  from  its  presence,  and  visiting 
with  punishment  every  violation  of  its  sanctity.  The  old 
concejition  of  the  fiery  appearance  of  the  Deity  served  espe- 
cially as  a  figurative  expression  of  the  moral  power  of  God, 
which  manifests  itself  as  a  "consuming  fire,"*  exterminating 
evil,  and  making  man  long  for  the  good  and  the  true,  for  right- 
eousness and  love. 

5.  The  divine  attribute  of  holiness  has  accordingly  a  double 
meaning.  On  the  one  hand,  it  indicates  spiritual  loftiness 
transcending  everything  sensual,  which  works  as  a  purging 
power  of  indignation  at  evil,  rebuking  injustice,  impurity  and 
falsehood,  and  punishing  transgression  until  it  is  removed  from 
the  sight  of  Gi)d.  On  the  other  hand,  it  denotes  the  conde- 
scending mercy  of  God.  which,  having  purged  the  so;  1  of  wrong, 
wins  it  for  the  right,  and  which  endows  man  with  the  power  of 
perfecting  himself,  and  thus  leads  him  to  the  gradual  building 
up  of  the  kingdom  of  goodness  and  i)urity  on  earth.  This 
ethical  conception  of  holiness,  which  emanates  from  the  moral 
nature  of  Gotl,  revealed  to  the  prophetic  genius  of  Israel,  must 
not  be  confused  with  the  old  Semitic  conception  of  priestly  or 

'  See  J.  E.,  art.  Holiness.  The  .\ssyri,in  Kuddhu  denotes  "bright,"  "pure," 
according  to  Zimmern  in  Religion  laul  Sprachr,  K.  A.  T.,  sd  ed.,  603. 

2  Deut.  XXXIII,  3  ;  Job  V,  I ;  VI,  10  ;  XV,  15  ;   Ps.  LXXXIX,  6,  8. 

>  Ex.  XIX,  2 1  f . ;  XXIV,  1 7  ;  I  Sam.  VI,  20 ;  Josh.  XXIV,  19 ;  Isa.  IV,  3 ; 
VI,  3,  13;  X,  17;  XXXI,  g;  XXXIII,  14;  Hab.  I,  13. 

<  Deut.  IV,  24,  Es.  XXIV,  i/. 


104 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


1r' 


If; 


I 


i 


■r  i 
'tl. 

f 

.     r 

pi 
W 

(ii; 


wi  1 


ritual  holiness.     Ritual  holiness  is  purely  external,  and  is 
transferable  to  persons  and  things,  to  times  and  places,  accord- 
ing to  their  relation  to  the  Deity.     Hence  the  various  cults  ap- 
plied the  term  "holy  "  to  the  most  abominable  forms  of  idolatry 
and  impure  worship.'    The  Mosaic  law  condemned  all  the.sc  as 
violations  of  the  holiness  of  Israel's  G(k1,  but  could  not  help 
sanctioning  many  ordinances  and  rites  of  priestly   holiness 
which  originated  in  ancient  Semitic  usages.     Hence  the  two 
conceptions  of  holiness,  the  priestly  or  external  and  the  pro- 
phetic or  ethical,  became  interwoven  in  the  Mosaic  code  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  impair  the  standard  of  ethical  holiness 
stressed  by  the  prophets,  the  unique  and  lofty  pr   session  of 
Judaism.     Hence  the  letter  of  the  Law  caused  a  deplorable 
confusion  of  ideas,  which  was  utilized  by  the  detractors  of 
Judaism.    The   liberal   movement   of   modern   Judaism,    in 
pointing  to  the  prophetic  ideals  as  the  true  basis  of  the  Jewish 
faith,  is  at  the  same  time  dispelling  this  ancient  confusion  of 
the  two  conceptions  of  holiness. 

6.  The  Lcvitical  holiness  adheres  outwardly  to  persons  and 
things  and  consists  in  their  separation  or  their  reservation  from 
common  use.  In  striking  contrast  to  this,  the  holiness  which 
Judaism  attributes  to  God  denotes  the  highest  ethical  purity, 
unattainable  to  flesh  and  blood,  but  designed  for  our  emulation! 

The  contemplation  of  the  divine  holiness  is  to  inspire  man 
with  fear  of  sin  and  to  e.xert  a  healthful  influence  upon  his 
conduct.  Thus  God  became  the  hallowing  power  in  Judaism 
and  its  institutions,  truly  the  "Holy  0ns  of  Israel"  according 
to  the  term  of  Isaiah  and  his  great  exilic  successor,  the  so-called 
Deutero-Isaiah.2    Thus  His  holine-s  invested  His  people  with 


'  Comp.  the  name  Kadesh  and  Krdesha  for  the  hierodules  consecrated  to 
Asfarte.  See  Deut.  XXIII,  i8;  I  Kings  XIV,  24;  XV,  12;  Rosea  IV,  14. 
Comp.  Zimmern,  1.  c,  p.  423. 

'Isa.  I,  4;  V,  12;  X,  20;  XII,  6;  XLI,  14;  XLIII,  3  f.;  XLV,  11;  and 
elsewhere. 


GOD'S  HOLINESS 


105 


special  sanctity  and  impost-d  upon  it  special  obligations.  In 
the  words  of  Ezekiel,  God  became  the  "Sanctifier  of  Israel." ' 
The  rabbis  penetrated  deeply  into  the  spirit  of  Scripture, 
at  the  same  time  that  they  adhered  strictly  to  its  letter. 
While  they  clung  tenaciously  to  the  ritual  holiness  of  the 
priestly  codes,  they  recognized  the  ideal  of  holiness  which  is 
so  sharply  opposed  in  every  act  and  thought  to  the  demoraliz- 
ing cults  of  heathenisin.-' 

7.  Accordingly,  holiness  is  not  the  metaphysical  concept 
which  Jehuda  ha  Levi  considers  it,^  but  the  principle  and  source 
of  all  ethics,  the  spirit  of  absolute  morality,  lending  purpose 
and  value  to  the  whole  of  life.  As  long  as  men  do  good  or 
shun  evil  through  fear  of  punishment  or  hope  for  reward, 
whether  in  this  life  or  the  hereafter,  so  long  will  ideal  morality 
remain  unattained,  and  man  cannot  claim  to  stand  upon  the 
ground  of  divine  ho'  ss.  The  hoiy  God  must  penetrate  and 
control  all  of  life  —  .-,uch  is  the  essence  of  Judaism.  The  true 
aim  of  human  existence  is  not  salvation  of  the  soul,  —  a  desire 
which  is  never  quite  free  from  selfishness,  —  but  holiness 
emulating  God,  striving  to  do  good  for  the  sake  of  the  good 
without  regard  to  recompense,  and  to  shun  evil  because  it  is 
evil,  aside  from  all  consecjuences.^ 

8.  The  fact  is  that  holiness  is  a  religious  term,  based  upon 
divine  if  .  "ation,  not  a  philosophical  one  resting  upon  specula- 
tive reasoning.  It  is  a  :^ostuhite  of  our  moral  nature  that  all 
life  is  governed  by  a  holy  Will  to  which  wc  must  submit 
willingly,  and  which  makes  for  the  good.  How  volition  and 
compulsion  are  with  God  one  and  the  same,  how  the  good 
exists  in  God  without  the  bad,  or  holiness  and  moral  purpose 
without  unholy  or  immoral  elements,  bow  God  can  be  exactly 
opposite  to  all  we  know  of  man,  —  this  is  a  question  which 

'  Ezek.  XX,  12  ;  XXXVII,  28  ;   Fx.  XXXI,  13,  and  elsewhere. 

'  See  Sifra  and  Rabba  to  Lev.  XL\,  2. 

*  Cuzari  IV,  3 ;  Kaufmann,  1.  c,  162  f.  *  Aboth,  I,  3. 


io6 


JEWISFF  TIIEOLOr.Y 


I.    i 
I 


ix, : 


[|^ 


-M 


t  1 


W 


f 

4   *  - 


t! 


philosophy  is  unaMc  to  answer.     In   fact,  hoh'ncss  is  best 
(it'fmed  negativdy.  as  the  "negation  of  all  that  man  from  his 
own  experience  knows  to  he  unholy."     These  words  of  the 
Danish  philosopher  RauwenhotT  are  made  still  clearer  by  the 
following  ob.servations :   "The  strength  in  the  idea  of  holiness 
lies  e.xactly  in  its  negative  character.    There  is  no  comparison 
of  higher  or  lesser  degree  possible  between  man's  imi)erfections 
and  God's  perfect  goodness.     Instead,  there  is  an  absolute  con- 
trast between  mankind  which,  even  in  its  noblest  types,  mi'st 
wrestle  with  the  power  of  evil,  and  Uul,  in  whom  nothing 
can  be  imagined  which  would  even  suggest  the  possibility  of 
any  moral  shortcoming  or  imperfection."  •     As  the  prophet 
says,  "Thou  art  too  pure  of  eyes  to  '     k  complacently  upon 
evil,"-'  and  according  to  the  Psalmist,  "Who  shall  ascend  into 
the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  and  who  shall  stand  in  His  holy 
place?    He  that  hath  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart." ' 

9.  The  idea  of  holiness  became  the  preeminent  feature  of 
Judaism,  so  that  the  favorite  name  for  (iod  in  Rabbinical 
literature  was  "the  Ho'y  One,  blessed  be  He,"  and  the  acme  of 
all  ceremonial  and  moral  laws  alike  was  found  in  "the  Hallow- 
ing of  His  name."^  If  the  rabbis  as  followers  of  the  Priestly 
Code  were  compelled  to  lay  great  stress  upon  ritual  holiness, 
they  yet  beheld  in  it  the  means  of  moral  purification.  They 
never  lost  sight  of  the  prophetic  principle  that  moral  purity  is 
the  object  of  all  human  life,  for  "the  holy  God  is  sanctified 
through  righteousness."  '" 

'  RauwcnhofI,  1.  c,  S04.  «  Hab.  I.  n 

'  Psalm  XXIV,  4-5. 

*  L.  Lazarus  :  Z.  Cliarackristik  d.jnedisch.  Ethik,  4(^43  ;  M.  Lazarus  :  Ethics 
of  Judaism.  {>.  184. 
»Isa.  V,  16. 


,^.*1. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


God's  Wrath  and  Pu>fisnMF.\T 

1.  Scripture  speaks  frequently  of  the  anger  and  zeal  of  God 
and  of  His  avenging  sword  and  judgment,  so  as  to  give  the 
impression  that  "  the  Old  Testament  God  is  a  God  of  wrath  and 
vengeance."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  attributes  are  merely 
emanations  of  His  holiness,  the  guide  and  incentive  to  moral 
action  in  man.  Thi  burning  fire  of  the  divine  holiness  aims 
to  awaken  the  dormant  seeds  of  morality  in  the  human  soul 
and  to  ripen  them  into  full  growth.  Whenever  we  to-day 
would  speak  of  pangs  of  conscience,  of  bitter  remorse,  Scripture 
uses  figurative  language  and  describes  how  God's  wrath  is 
kindled  against  the  wrongdoing  of  the  people,  and  how  fire 
blazes  forth  from  His  nostrils  to  consume  them  in  His  anger. 
The  nearer  man  stands  to  nature,  the  more  tempestuous  are 
the  outbursts  of  his  passion,  and  the  more  violent  is  the  reaction 
of  his  repentance.  Yet  thi;i  very  reaction  impresses  him  as 
though  wrought  from  outside  or  above  by  the  olTended  Deity. 
Thus  the  divine  wrath  becomes  a  means  of  moral  education, 
exactly  as  the  parents'  indignation  at  the  child's  ofTenses  is 
part  of  his  training  in  morality. 

2.  Thus  the  first  manifestation  of  God's  holiness  is  His 
indignation  at  falsehood  and  violence,  His  hatred  of  evil  and 
wrongdoing.  The  longer  men  persist  in  sin,  the  more  does  He 
manifest  Himself  as  "the  angry  God,"  as  a  "consuming  fire" 
which  destroys  evil  with  holy  zeal.'    The  husbandman  cannot 

*  Comp.  Dillmann,  1.  c,  258  f. ;  J.  E.,  art.  "Anger." 
107 


io8 


JFAVISH  THEOLOGY 


I 


1 

li 


It.'', 

If.5- 


It. 


I 


i 

r 


i 


.,  t; 


expect  the  good  harvest  until  he  has  weeded  out  the  tares  from 
the  field;  so  God,  in  educating  man,  begins  by  purging  the 
soul  from  all  its  evil  inclinations,  and  this  zeal  is  all  the  more 
unsparing  as  the  good  is  finally  »o  triumph  in  His  eternal  |)lan 
of  universal  salvation.  We  must  bear  in  mind  that  Judaism 
does  not  personify  evil  as  a  power  hostile  to  (iod.  hence  the 
whole  problem  is  only  one  of  purifying  the  human  soul.  Be- 
fore the  sun  of  God's  grace  and  mercy  is  to  shine,  bearing  life 
and  healing  for  all  humanity.  His  wrath  and  punitive  justice 
must  ever  burst  forth  to  cleanse  the  worhl  of  its  sin.  For 
as  long  as  evil  continues  unchecked,  so  long  cannot  the 
divine  holiness  pour  forth  its  all-forbearing  goodness  and 
love. 

3.  On  this  account  the  first  revelation  of  God  on  Sinai 
was  as  "a  jealous  Ciod,  who  visit eth  the  sins  of  the 
fathers  upon  the  children  and  the  children's  children  until 
the  third  and  fourth  generation."  So  the  prophets,  from 
Moses  to  Malachi.  speak  ever  of  Gxl's  anger,  which  comes 
with  the  fury  of  nature's  unchained  forces,  to  terrify  and  over- 
whelm all  living  beings.'  Thus  Scri])ture  considers  all  the 
great  catastrophes  of  the  hr)ar}  past.  —  flood,  earthquakes, 
and  the  rain  of  fire  and  brimstone  that  destroys  cities  —  as 
judgments  of  the  divine  anger  on  sinful  generations.  Wicked- 
ness in  general  causes  His  displeasure,  but  His  wrath  is  pro- 
voked especially  by  violations  of  the  social  order,  by  desecra- 
tions of  His  sanctuary,  or  attacks  on  His  covenant,  and  His 
anger  is  kindled  for  the  poor  and  helpless,  when  they  are 
opi)ressed  and  deprived  of  their  rights.^ 

4.  Thus  the  divine  holiness  was  felt  more  and  more  as  a 
moral  force,  and  that  which  appeared  in  pre-proi)hetic  times 
to  be  an  elemental  power  of  the  celestial  ire  became  a  refining 

>  Ex.  XX.  5 ;   ha.  X.vX,  27  f. ;    N'ahum  I,  5  f. 

'Ex.  XXir,  23;  Num.  XVir,  10  f.;  XXV,  3  I  Dcut.  XXIX,  iq;  XXXII, 
21;  Isa.  IX,  16. 


GOD'S  WRATH   AM)   PINISIIMIAT 


lOQ 


flame,  purging  irnn  of  dross  as  in  a  rrucible.  "I  will  not  exe- 
cute the  fRTceness  of  Mine  an>?er,"  says  the  prophet,  "for  I 
am  Go<l  and  not  nuui,  the  Holy  One  in  the  midst  of  thee,  ind 
I  will  not  lonie  in  fury."  '  So  sinf^s  the  Psalmist.  "His  an^er 
is  hut  for  a  nionuiU  ;  Hi;  favor  for  a  life-tinu-."  -  In  the  same 
sjurit  the  rabbis  interpreted  (he  verse  of  the  Decalojjue,  "  The 
sin  of  the  fathers  is  visited  upcm  the  children  and  children's  chil- 
dren only  if  they  continue  to  act  as  their  fathers  did,  and  are 
thcfnselves  haters  of  (iod."  •'' 

The  fact  is  that  Israel  in  Canaan  had  become  addicted  to 
all  the  vices  of  idolatry,  and  if  they  were  to  be  trained  to  moral 
purity  and  to  loyalty  to  the  (iod  of  the  Covenant,  they  must 
be  taught  fear  and  ;i\ve  before  the  flame  of  the  divine  wrath. 
Only  after  that  could  the  prophet  address  himself  to  the  con- 
science of  the  individual,  saying : 

"Who  among  us  shall  dwill  with  the  devouring  fire  ? 
Who  among  us  shall  dwell  with  everlasting  burnings? 
He  that  walketh  righteously,  and  speaketh  uprightly  ; 
IK  that  despiselh  the  g.iinoi"  oppressions,  that  shaketh  his  hands  from 

holding  of  bribes. 
That  stoppeth  his  ears  from  hearing  of  blood,  and  shutleth  his  eyes 

from  looking  upon  evil ; 
He  shall  dwell  on  high ;    his  place  of  defense  shall  hv  the  munitions  of 

rocks ; 
His  bread  shall  be  ,,ivcn,  his  water  shall  be  sure. 
Thine  eyes  shall  see  the  King  in  His  beauty  ;   they  shall  behold  a  land 

stretching  afar."* 

Here  we  behold  the  fiery  element  of  the  divine  holiness 
partly  depicted  as  a  reality  and  partly  spiritualized.  The 
last  of  the  prophets  compares  the  divine  wrath  to  a  melting 
furnace,  which  on  the  Day  of  Judgment  is  to  consume  evil- 
doers   as    stubble,   while   to  those  who  f  ar   the  Lord  He 


'  Rosea  XI,  9. 

'  Targum  to  Ex.  XX,  3 ;  Sianh.  27  b. 


'  Psalm  XXX. 

«Isa.  XXXIII,  14-17. 


no 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


li^ 


IM'     • 


.! 


shall   appear  as  the  sun  of   righteousness  with  healing  on 
its  wings.* 

5-  The  idea  as  expressed  by  the  prophets,  then,  was  that 
God's  anger  will  vinit  the  wicked,  and  particularly  the  ungodly 
nations  of  heathendom,  and  that  He  shall  judge  all  creatures  in 
fire.*  This  is  significantly  altered  under  Persian  influence, 
when  the  Jew  began  to  regard  the  world  to  come  as  promising 
to  the  rightet)us  greater  bliss  than  the  present  one.  Then  the 
day  of  divine  wrath  meant  doom  eternal  for  evil-doers,  who 
were  to  fall  into  the  fiery  depths  of  Gehenna,  "their  worm  is 
never  to  die  and  their  fire  never  to  be  quenched."'  This 
became  the  prevailing  view  of  the  rabbis,  of  the  A[)ocal>ptics 
and  also  of  the  New  Te.itament  and  the  Church  literature.* 
The  Jewish  propaganda  in  the  Hellenistic  literature,  however, 
combined  the  fire  of  Gehenna  with  the  Stoic,  or  pagan,  view 
of  a  general  world  conflagration,  and  announced  a  general 
doomsday  for  the  heathen  world,  unless  they  be  converted  to 
the  belief  in  Israel's  one  and  holy  God,  and  ceased  violating  the 
fundamental  (Noachian)  laws  of  humanity.* 

6.  A  higher  view  of  the  punitive  anger  of  God  is  taken  by 
Beruriah,  the  noble  wife  of  R.  Meir,«  —  if,  indeed,  the  wife  of 
the  saintly  Abba  Helkiah  did  not  precede  her  ^  —  in  suggest- 
ing a  different  reading  of  the  Biblical  text,  as  to  make  it  offer 
the  lesson:  "not  the  sinners  shall  perish  from  the  earth,  but 
the  sins."  From  a  more  philosophical  viewpoint  both  Juda  ha 
Levi  and  Maimonides  hold  that  the  anger  which  we  ascribe  to 

'  Mai.  Ill,  2,  ig  f. 

M)eut.  XXXII,  is;  comp.  Sifre,  3^5;  GeiRer:  Urschrifl,  247,  regarding 
Samaritan  text.     Zeph.  I,  15;  Isa.  LXVI,  15-16. 

'  Isa.  XVLI,  24. 

♦Sec  J.  E,  art.  "Gehenna";  Mi.l.  Teh  '.o  Ps.  LXXVI,  11,  and  LXXIX; 
Ned.  32  a;  Taan.  9  b;  Ver.  Taan.  II,  65  b;  Ab.  Zar.  4  a  and  b;  18  b; 
Ber.  7  a;  Shab.  118  a;  Sanh.  nob;  Gen.  R.  VI,  9;  XXVI.  11,  etal.;  comp. 
Romans  II,  s ;   Eph.  V,  6 ;   I  Thess.  I,  10. 

•Sibyll.  II,  170,  :8s;  HI,  S4i,  SS6  f.,  67IH597,  760,  810;  Enoch  XCI,  7-9. 

•  Bcr.  ion;  Midr.  Teh.  to  Ps.  CiV,  35.  » Tan.  23  b. 


GODS  WRATII  AND  TUNISHMENT 


lit 


Go<l  is  only  the  tranHferoncc  of  the  anger  which  wc  arluaiiy 
feel  at  the  sight  of  evildoing.  Similarly,  whin  wi-  sfu-ak  of  the 
consuming  fire  of  htll,  we  dipirt  the  elTc<  t  wliiih  the  fear  of 
G{m1  must  have  on  our  inner  life,  until  the  time  shall  lome 
when  we  shun  evil  as  ungcnlly  and  love  the  gmxl  because  it  is 
both  good  and  Ctod-like.' 

'  Cutan  IV,  s ;  Worr*  I,  jo,  and  Commentary  to  Sanh.  X,  i. 


f 


1 


it" 

1'*  ' 

i 


CHAPTFR   XVIII 

God's  Long  suffering  and  Mf.rcy 

I     Im  one  of  the  little  knowTi  ap(KT>phal  writings,  the  Tcsta- 
mvni  „f  Abraham,  u  beautiful  story  is  told  of  the  patriarch. 
Shortly  before   his  death,  the  arehanj,'el    Michael  drove  hin. 
abng  the  sky  in  the  heavenly  ehariot.     Looking'  down  u|>on 
the  earth,  he  saw  companies  of  thieves  and  murderers,  adul- 
terers, and  other  evil-d<,ers  pursuing  their  nefarious  practices, 
and  m  ri^diteous  indignation  he  cried  out :  "Oh  would  to  CJod 
tiK't  fire,  destruction,  and  death  should  instantly  befall  these 
criminals!"     No  s(K)ner  had  he  spoken  these  words  than  the 
doom  he  pronounced  came  upon  those  wicked  men.     But 
then  spoke  the  Lord  (;od  to  the  heavenly  .  b  .rioteer  Michael : 
"Stop  at  once,  lest  My  righteous  .servant  Al  .aham  in  his  just 
indignation  bring  death  upon  all  My  creatures,  because  they 
arc  not  as  righteous  as  he.     He  has  not  learned  to  restrain  his 
anger."  i     Thus,  indeed,  the  wrath  kindled  at  the  sight  of 
wrongdoing  would  consume  the  sinner  at  once,  were  it  not 
for  another  quality  in  Ciod,  called  in  Scripture  lo,tg-su[fcring. 
By  this  He  restrains  His  anger  and  gives  the  sinner  time  to 
miprove   his   ways.     Though    every    wicked    deed   provokes 
Him  to  immediate  punishment,  yet   He  shows  compassion 
upon  the  feeble  mortal.     "Even  in  wrath  He  remembereth 
compassion."  ^    "  He  hath  no  delight  in  the  death  of  the  sinner, 
but  that  he  shall  return  from  his  ways  and  live."  ^    The  divine 
holiness  does  not  merely  overwhelm  and  consume ;   its  cssen- 


'  Testament  of  Abraham  A  X, 
»  Ezek.  Win,  23,  3j;  XXXIII,  II. 

113 


=  Hab.  Ill,  i. 


W)US  LONG  SIFFKR1N(.   ANO   MKRCY  ti) 

tial  aim  in  the  elevation  of  man.  the  effort  to  endow  him  with  a 
higher  h'fe. 

1.  It  is  p,  rf.Tily  true  that  a  note  .)f  riKor  and  .,f  profound 
earnestne>^  runs  through  the  pages  of  Holy  Writ.  The 
prophets.  law-Kivers.  ai.d  p.alniists  speak  incessantly  of  how 
Kuilt  brings  .loom  uixm  the  lands  and  nations,  As  the  father 
who  is  soIi.it.His  of  the  honor  of  his  hous«ho|,|  punishe>  unre- 
lentingly  every  \  ioialion  of  morality  within  it.  so  the  Ifoly  (>nc 
of  Israel  watdu^  /..alotisly  over  His  people's  loyalty  to  His 
iovenant.  His  g|oriou>  name.  His  h..Iy  majesty  cannot  Iw 
violated  with  immunity  from  His  dreaded  wrath.  There  is 
nothing  of  the  joyous  al)and.)n  which  was  predominant  in 
the  (Ircek  nature  and  in  the  Olympian  gods.  The  ideal  of 
holiness  was  presented  hy  the  CJod  of  Israel,  and  all  the  doings 
of  men  ap[)cared  faulty  beside  it. 

But  il.s  power  of  molding  character  is  shown  bv  Judaism  at 
this  ver>'  point,  in  that  it  does  not  stop  at  the  comlemnationof 
the  smner.     It  holds  forth  the  jmimise  of  (nxl's  forlx-arance  to 
man  m  his  shorteotnings,  due  to  His  ecmipa-sion  on  the  weak- 
ness of  flesh  and  blood.     He  waits  for  man,  erring  ami  stum- 
bling, until  by  striving  and  struggling  he  shall  attain  a  higher 
state  of  purity.     This  is  the  bright,  uplifting  side  of  the  Jewish 
id  a  of  the  divine  holiness.     In  this  is  the  innermost  nature 
of  God  disclosed.     In  fear  and  awe  of  Him  who  is  enthroned 
on  high,  "before  whom  even  the  angels  are  not  pure,"  man, 
conscious  of  his  sinfulness,  sinks  trembling  into  the  dust  before 
the  Judge  of  the  whole  earth.     But  the  grace  and  mercy  of  the 
long-suffering  Ruler  lift  him  up  and  imbue  him  with  courage 
and  strength  to  acquire  a  new  life  and  new  energy.    Thus  the 
oppressive  burden  of  guilt  is  transformed  into  an  uplifting 
power  through  the  influence  of  the  holy  God. 

3-  The  predominance  in  (lod  of  mildness  and  mercy  over 
punitive  anger  is  expressed  most  strikingly  in  the  revelation 
to  Moses,  when  he  had  entreated  God  to  let  him  see  His  ways. 


I 


114 


jKWISII  THKOl.iX;Y 


M 
(■ 

I  ■ 

hi,  i' 
i 


i'i 


n 


■  :  !  '  ; 


\i 


The  pr«.plc  ha.|  pr,.v.,k«|  VnnW  anR.r  l,y  their  falthlrMnes* 
In  the  worship  of  the  K,.|,|,.n  talf.  an.l  Uv  ha.l  thr.atenetl  to 
consume  thrm,  when  M..ms  intcrir.le.|  in  their  Inhalf.     Then 
the  L«.r<l  pa>ml  hy  him.  ami  prmlaimeil:    "The  Uml,  the 
I^.r.l.  (WkI.  merciful  amlgraciouv  lonK-sulTirinK ami  abundant 
in  K.HHineHs  an.l  truth.  keq)in«  mercy  unto  the  thounandth 
Keneration.  forKivinj?  ir»i.juity  an.l  tran^KreH,i..n  and  sin;  and 
that  will  hy  no  mean-      ar  the  «uilty  ;  vi^titiK  the  iniquity  uf 
the  fathers  upcm  the  chi.dren  and  u|H,n  the-  <  hildren's  c  hildren. 
unto  the  third  ami  unto  the  fourth  ^cneraii..n."  «     Such  a 
passage  Hh<.WH  clearly  the  progress  in  the  knowledge  of  God's 
nature.     For  Abraham  and  the  traditions  of  the  patriarchs 
(I.hI  was  the  righteous  Judge,  punishing  the  transgressors. 
Hi  IS  represented  in  the  same  way  in  the  Decalogue  on  Sinal.» 
Was  this  to  be  the  final  Word  ?     Was  Israel  c  hosen  by  God  as 
|Cis  covenant  people,  only  to  encounter  the  full  measure  of  His 
just  but  relentless  anger  and  to  Ix.-  consumed  at  once  for  the 
vu)Iation  of  this  covenant?     Therefore  Nfoses  wres'led  with 
his     cmI.     Filled  with  compas.sionate  love  for  his  |HH)ple  he  is 
willing  to  olTer  hi.  Vh-  .    their  r.,i;  ,om.     And  should  God  him- 
self lack  this  fullness  of  love  and  pity,  of  whic  h  even  a  human 
bcmg  .s  ca|)ablc>     Then,  as  from  a  dark  cloud,  there  flashed 
suddenly  uiK)n  him  the  light  of  a  new  revelation ;  he  became 
aware  of  the  higher  truth,  that  above  the  austerity  of  God's 
avenging  anger  prevails  the  tender  forgiveness  of  His  mercy ; 
that  beyond  the  consuming  zeal  of  His  punitive  justice  shines' 
the  sun-like  splendor  of  His  grace  and  love.     The  rabbis  find 
the  e.xprcssion  of  mercy  especially  in  the  name  JHVH  {i.e. 
"the  One  who  shall  ever  be")  which  is  significantly  placed 
here  at  the  head  of  the  divine  attributes.     Indeed,  only  He 
who  is  the  same  from  everlasting  to  everlasting,  and  to  whom 
to-morrow  is  like  yesterday,  can  show  forbearance  to  erring 

'  F.x.  XXXII-XXXIV,  7.     Comp.  Sum.  XIV,  i8. 
•Gfn  XIX, --H;  Ex.  XX,  36. 


CODS  LONG-SUFFKRINd  AM)  MKRCY 


IIS 


man.  b<H:iuHf  in  what-MK-vrr  he  has  faJknl  yf'ttcTilay  he  may 
makr  KimhI  lo-rutrrow. 

4  I.ik«'  Mkmh,  tin-  ma>trr  of  thi"  p.iiphotH,  -«>  thr  |)r()|ihct 
lIoMM  .iIm)  If.iriHtl  in  h.inl  -ipirifu.d  •.iriiKKlc  to  know  iho  «livir.r 
attrihutr  of  iiwn  y  a'l.l  loviriKkiruhu-^s  His  own  wife  h.ul 
provitl  failhU^is,  ami  hul  l»r.)kni  the  marital  « ovi-nant ;  still 
his  lovf  Mirvivrd.  so  that  Ik-  Krant«'<|  hrr  for«tvciiP>  when  shi* 
was  forsaken,  and  tiMik  her  h.u  k  to  his  home  Then,  in  hin 
distress  at  the  (i.H I  forsaken  state  of  hrael  throii>?h  her  faith- 
lessne-.s,  he  asked  himself :  "  Will  dni  reje«  I  forever  the  nation 
whiih  lie  es|)ouseil.  beiauHc  it  broke  the  i oven  ml.''  Will 
not  lie  also  )?rant  forgiveness  and  meny?"  The  divine 
answer  ( ame  to  him  out  «)f  thedepths  of  hisown  <  ompassiunate 
soul.  I'lnm  the  i  rown  of  (iiMl's  m.ije^y  which  .\mos  h.id 
beheld  ill  elTulKent  with  jii^licc  an<l  ri^'liteoii>nes>,  he  plai  ed 
the  most  pre*  ious  «em.  retlei  lin^  the  hiKh.-^t  (|uality  of  Ci«»d  - 
His  Kraiious  and  all  forjL'ivin--  love.'  Whether  the  priority 
in  this^reat  truth  belongs  to  Hosea  or  .Moses  is  a  (juesli(m  for 
historiial  Hible  research  toan-.w«T,  but  it  is  of  no  t(»nsequenie 
to  Jewish  theology. 

j.  Ceriaudy  Scripture  rej)re.sents  tiod  i.h»  much  after 
human  fashion,  when  it  ascribes  to  him  c  han«es  of  nv.od  from 
anger  to  compassion,  or  sjK-aks  of  His  re[)enlam  c.-  Hut  wc 
must  bear  in  mind  that  the  prophets  obtained  their  insight 
into  the  ways  of  God  by  thi>  very  i)roeess  of  tr.in>fei-  ng  their 
own  e.vperience  to  the  Deity.  .\nd  on  the  other  hand,  we  are 
told  that  "God  is  not  a  man  that  He  should  lie,  neither  the 
son  of  man  that   He  shouM  repent."^     .Ml   tluse  anlhropo- 

'  Hnsia  I  III;  XF,  I  f,;  MV,  q  Cnrnp  .Mii;ih  .\in,  rH,  J.r  IM.H-ij; 
Is.1.  I.IV,  f^^S;  I.Vll,  i(.  f  i  Ju.l  II.  ,i,  J,.n,ili  IV,  .,  10  f.;  |.um.  Ill,  ji  ; 
IV  I..\XVIII.  iS  ,/  ,1/.  S.-r  Dillnuinii.  I.  ..  :',j  f. ;  IUvi,l-...ii  7A<»/,>£v  of 
O.  T  ,  r  ?.■  f 

'Ccii.  VI,  6;    I  Sam.  XV,  ii;   J.r  III,  7-10;   Joel  II,  14;   J.mah   III. 

10;    IV,  2. 

'N'uJii.  XXiit,  ig;  I  Sam.  XV,  :,,;    ,cc  largum  and  (.otnracntarics. 


ii6 


JEWISH  THEOLOGV 


till 


(I 


l^i    '■ 


i 


^i>] 


morphic  pictures  of  God  were  later  avoided  by  the  ancient 
Biblical  translators  by  means  of  paraphrase,  and  by  the  philos- 
ophers  by  means  of  allegory.' 

6.   Acconiin.t,'  to  the  Midrashic  interpretation  of  the  passage 
from  the  Pentateuch  .juoted  ibove.  Moses  desired  to  ascertain 
whether  God  ruled  the  world  with  His  justice  or  with  Ilis 
mercy,  and  the  answer  was:  'Behoi  .,  I  shall  let  My  f^oodness 
pass  before  thee.     For  I  owe  nothing  to  any  of  My  creatures 
but  My  actions  are  prompted  only  by  My  grace  and  good  will' 
through  which  I  give  them  all  that  they  possess."  ^    According 
to  Judaism  justice  and  mercv  are  intertwined  in  God's  govern- 
ment of  the  world;    the  .ormer  is  the  pillar  of  the  cosmic 
structure,  and  the  latter  the  measuring  line.     No  mortal  could 
stand  before  God,  were  justice  the  only  standard  ;  but  we  sub- 
sist on  His  mercy,  which  lends  us  the  boons  of  life  without  our 
meriting  them.     That  which  is  not  good  in  us  now  is  to  become 
good  through  our  etTort  toward  .he  best.     God's  grace  under- 
lies this  possibility. 

Accordingly,  the  divine  holiness  has  'wo  aspects,  the  over- 
whelming wrath  of  Flis  justice  and  the  uplifting  grace  of  His 
bng-sufTering.  Without  justice  there  could  be  no  fear  of 
God,  no  moral  earnestness;  without  mercy  only  condemna- 
tion and  perdition  would  remain.  As  the  rabbis  tell  us,  both 
justice  and  mercy  had  their  share  in  the  creation  of  man,  for 
in  man  both  good  and  bad  appear  and  struggle  for  supremacy. 
All  generations  need  the  divine  grace  that  they  may  have  time 
and  opportunity  for  improvement.'' 

7.  Thus  this  conception  of  grace  is  far  deeper  and  worthier  of 
God  than  is  that  of  Paulinian  Christianity  ;  for  grace  in  Paul's 
sense  is  arbitrary  in  action  and  dependent  upon  the  acceptance 

1?"  /   r,'-'  ''";  •^"''^^'^'""""n'hism  and  .Mlegorical  Interpretation. 
'  Fanh.  Waethhanan,  "      rjuber,  3. 

90-9?^°  R-  VIII,  4-5.    [         forns  Joseph  :  Judaism  as  Creed  and  Life,  p.  59, 


GODS   LONG-SUFFERING  AND   MERCY 


117 


of  a  creed,  therefore  the  very  reverse  of  impartial  justice.  In 
Judaism  divine  grace  is  not  offered  as  a  bait  to  make  men 
b"h"eve,  but  as  an  incentive  to  moral  improvement.  The  God 
of  hoh'ness,  who  inflicts  wounds  upon  the  guilty  soul  by  bitter 
renorse,  offers  also  healing  through  His  compassion.  Justice 
■iiid  mercy  are  not  two  separate  powers  or  i)ersons  in  the 
Deity,  as  w'th  the  doctrine  of  the  Church ;  they  are  the  two 
sides  of  the  same  divine  power.  "I  am  the  Lord  before  sin 
was  committed,  and  I  am  the  Lord  after  sin  is  committed"  — 
so  the  rabbis  explain  the  repetition  of  the  name  JFiV'H  in  the 
revelation  to  Moses.' 

»  R.  h.  Sh.  17  b;  compare,  J.  Davidson,  154;  Kocberic:  Suende  und 
Gnade,  1905,  p.  625,  634  f. ;  but  p.  658,  (114,  are  mislcadini; ;  Weber,  I.  c,  154, 
260,  30J  f.,  altogether  misrepresents  the  Jewish  doctrine  of  grace. 


a 


ft** 


Hi*! 


:U 


r^i 


CHAPTKR  XIX 

God's  Justicr 

I.   The  unshakable  faith  of  the  Jewish  people  was  ever  sus- 
tained by  the  consciousness  that  its  God  is  a  God  of  justice. 
The  conviction  that  He  will  not  suffer  wrong  to  go  unpunished 
was  read  into  all  the  stories  of  the  hoary  past.     The  Babylo- 
nian form  of  these  legends  in  common  with  all  ancient  folk-lore 
ascribes  human  calamity  to  blind  fate  or  to  the  caprice  of  the 
gods,  but  the  Biblical  narratives  assume  that  evil  does  not 
befall  men  undeserved,  and  therefore  always  ascribe  ruin  or 
death  to  human  transgression.     So  th.  Jewish  genius  beheld 
in  the  destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  a  divine  judgment 
upon  the  depraved  inhabitants,  and  derived  from  it  a  lesson 
for  the  household  of  Abraham  that  they  should  "keep  the  way 
of  the  Lord  to  do  righteousness  and  justice."  ^     The  funda- 
mental principle  of  Judaism  throughout  the  ages  has  been  the 
teaching  of   the  patriarch  that  "the  Judge  of  all  the  earth 
cannot  act  unjustly."-  even  though  the  varying  events  of 
history  force  the   problem  of  justice  upon   the  attention  of 
Jeremiah,''  the  Psalmists."  the  author  of  the  book  of  Job,*  and 
the  Talmudical  sages."    "Righteousness  and  justice  are  the 
foundations  of  Thy  throne"  ^  —  this  is  the  sum  and  sub- 
stance of  the  religious  experience  of  Israel.    At  the  same  time 
man  realizes  how  far  from  his  grasp  is  the  divine  justice: 


2  Gen.  XVIII,  2«. 


•  Gen.  XVIII,  lo. 
♦Ps.  LXXIII,  12. 

•  Ycr.  Hag.  II,  i ;   Elisha  ben  .Abuyah. 

iiS 


'Jcr.  XII,  I. 

»  Job  X,  22  f. 

'  Ps.  LXXXIX,  IS, 


GODS  JUSTICE 


liy 


"Thy  righteousness  is  like  the  mighty  mountains;  Thy  judg- 
ments are  like  the  great  deep."  ' 

2.  The  Master-builder  of  the  moral  world  i  ade  justiee  the 
supporting  pillar  of  the  entire  creation.  "I  e  is  The  Rock, 
His  work  is  perfect,  for  all  His  ways  are  just;  a  (iod  of  faith- 
fulness and  without  iniquity,  just  and  r'ght  is  He."  -'  There 
can  be  no  moral  world  order  without  a  retributive  justice, 
which  leaves  no  infringement  of  right  unpunished,  just  as  no 
social  order  can  exist  without  laws  to  protect  the  weak  iind  to 
enforce  general  res,  I'ct.  The  God  of  Judaism  rules  over  man- 
kind as  Guardian  and  Vindicator  of  justice  ;  no  wn^ng  escapes 
His  scrutinizing  gaze.  This  fundamental  doctrine  invested 
history,  of  both  the  individual  and  the  nation,  with  a  moral 
significance  beyond  that  of  any  other  religious  or  ethical 
system. 

Whatever  practice  or  sense  of  justice  may  exist  among  the 
rest  of  mankind,  it  i.^  at  best  a  g!inii)se  of  that  divine  righteous- 
ness which  leads  us  on  and  becomes  a  mighty  force  compelling 
us,  not  only  to  avoid  wrongdoing,  but  to  combat  it  with  all  the 
passion  of  an  indignant  ;■'■  and  .radicate  it  wherever  possi- 
ble. Though  in  our  dii-'v  experience  justice  nuiy  be  sadly 
lacking,  we  still  cling  to  the  moral  axiom  that  God  will  lead 
the  right  to  victory  and  will  hurl  iniquity  into  the  abyss. 
As  the  sages  remark  in  the  Midrash :  "  How  could  short-sighted 
and  short-lived  man  venture  to  assert.  'All  His  ways  are  just,' 
were  it  not  for  the  divine  revelation  by  which  the  eyes  of  Moses 
were  opened,  so  that  he  could  gaze  into  the  very  depths  of 
life?"'  That  is,  the  idea  of  divine  ju^^tice  is  revealed,  not 
in  the  world  as  it  is,  but  in  the  world  as  it  should  be,  the  ideal 
cosmos  which  lives  in  the  spirit. 


*  Ps.  XXXVI,  7;  see  Davidson,  1.  c.  143  f . ;  J.  E,,art.  Justice;  Hamburger: 
Recdencydopacdie,  art.  Gerechtigkeit;  Dillmann,  1.  c,  270  f. ;  .Strauss,  1.  c,  596- 
604.    Bousset,  437  f.,  is  misleading. 

=  Dcut.  XXXII,  4.  3  lanh.,  Jithro  5. 


120 


JEWTSir   THEOLOGY 


I 


!l 


•;  U 


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[rf!^. 


VI-  I   t 


m'H 


Iti 


3-   It  cannot  be  dcni,      n.if  justice  is  recognized  as  a  binding 
force  eveu  by  peoples  on  a  low  cultural  plane,  and  the  Deity  is 
Reneraliv  rcMardcl  as  the  guaniian  of  justice,  exactly  as  in 
Judaism.     This  fact  is  shuwn  by  th<-  use  of  the  oath  in  con- 
nection with  ju.licial  procedure  among  many  nations.     Both 
Roman  jurisprudence  and  Greek  ethics  declare  justice  to  be 
the  foun.lation  of  the  social  life.     Nevertheless  the  Jewish 
Ideal  of  justice  <  innot  be  identiued  with  that  of  the  law  and  the 
courts.     The  law  is  part  of  the  social  system  of  the  State   by 
which  the.  r.'lations  of  in.lividuals  are  determined  and  upheld 
The  maintenance  of  this  social  order,  of  the  slalus  quo    is 
considered  justice  by  the  law,  whatever  injustice  to  individuals 
may  result.    But  the  Jewish  idea  of  justice  is  not  reactionary 
It  owes  to  the  prophets  its  position  as  the  dominating  principle 
o    the  world,  the  peculiar  essence  of  God.  and  therefore  the 
ultimate  ideal  of  human  life.     They  fought  for  right  with  an 
insistence  which  vindicated  its  moral  signiHcance  forever  and 
in  scathing  words  of  indignation  which  still  burn  in  the  soul 
they  denounced  oppression  wherever  it  apj^eared.     The  crimes 
of  the  mighty  against  the  weak,  they  held,  could  not  be  atoned 
for  by  the  outward  forms  of  piety.     Right  and  justice  are  not 
simply  matters  for  the  State  and  the  social  order,  but  belong 
to  God.  who  defends  the  cause  of  the  helpless  and  the  homeless 
^  who  executes  the  judgment  of  the  fatherless  and  the  widow  '' 
"who  regarfleth  not  persons,  nor  taketh  bribes."  •    Iniquity  is 
hatdul  to  Him  :   it  cannot  be  covered  up  by  pious  acts,  nor 
be  justified  by  good  ends.     "Justice  is  God's."  -    Thus  every 
violation  of  justice,  whether  from  sordid  self-seeking  or  from 
tender  compassion,  is  a  violation  of  God's  cause;  and  every 
vindication  of  justice,  every  strengthening  of  the  power  of 
right  in  society,  is  a  triumph  of  God. 

4-   Accordingly,  the  highest  principle  of  ethics  in  Judaism 
the  cardinal  point  in  the  government  of  the  world,  is  not  love' 


'Dcui.  X,  i7-i8. 


'D-Jt.  I,  17. 


;-^' 


CODS  JUSTICE 


121 


but  justice.  Love  has  the  tendency  to  undermine  the  right 
and  to  effeminize  society.  Justit  e,  on  the  other  hand,  develops 
the  moral  capacity  of  every  man  ;  it  aims  ncU  merely  to  avoid 
wronj?,  but  to  promote  and  develop  the  right  for  the  sake  of 
the  perfect  state  of  morality.  True  justice  cannot  remain  a 
passive  onlool-'r  when  the  right  or  liherty  i»f  any  human  being 
is  curtailed,  but  strains  every  elTort  to  prevent  violence  and 
oppression.  It  battles  for  the  right,  until  it  has  triumphed 
over  every  injustice.  This  [)ractical  coni  eption  of  right  can  be 
traced  through  all  Jewish  literature  and  iloctrine ;  through 
the  laws  of  Moses,  to  whom  is  ascribed  the  ma.vim :  '"Let  the 
right  have  its  way,  though  it  bore  holes  through  the  rock '", 
through  the  flaming  words  of  the  prophets-;  through  the 
Psalmists,  who  spoke  such  words  as  the^e:  "Thou  art  not  a 
God  who  hath  pleasure  in  wickedness ;  evil  shall  not  sojourn 
with  Thee.  The  arrogant  shall  not  stand  in  Thy  sight; 
Thou  hatest  all  workers  of  iniquity."  ^ 

Nor  does  justice  stop  with  the  prohibition  of  evil.  The 
very  arm  that  strikes  down  the  presumptuous  transgressor 
turns  to  lift  up  the  meek  and  endow  him  with  strength.  Jus- 
tice becomes  a  positive  power  for  the  right;  it  becomes 
ZeJakah,  righteousness  or  true  benevolence,  and  aims  to  re- 
adjust the  inequalities  of  life  by  kindness  and  love.  It  engen- 
ders that  deeper  sense  of  justice  which  claims  the  right  of  the 
weak  to  protection  "uy  the  arm  of  the  strong. 

5.  Hence  comes  the  truth  of  Matthew  Arnold's  striking 
summary  of  Israel's  Law  and  Prophets  in  his  'Literature  and 
Dogma",  as  "The  Power,  not  ourselves,  that  maketh  for 
righteousness."  Still,  when  we  trace  the  development  of  this 
central  thought  in  the  soul  of  the  Jewish  people,  we  find  that  it 
arose  from  a  peculiar  mythological  conception.  The  God  of 
Sinai  had  manifested  Himself  in  the  devastating  elements  of 


>Yeb.  02  a;  Yer.  Sanh.  I,  18  b. 

*  Amos  V,  24;  Isa.  I,  17,  28;  XXVIII,  17;  LIV,  14. 


Ps. 


3-6. 


i^Ii. 


132 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


ith ' 


Mr  •. 


H 


M! 


nature  —  fire,  storm,  and  hail ;  later,  the  prophetic  genius  of 
Israel  saw  Hini  as  a  moral  power  who  destroyed  wickedness  by 
these  very  phenomena  in  order  that  ri^'ht  should  prevail.  At 
first  the  covenant-God  of  Israel  hurls  the  plagues  of  heaven 
upon  the  hostile  Kgyjjtians  and  Canaanites,  the  oppressors  of 
His  people.  Afterward  the  great  prophets  speak  of  the  Day  of 
JHVH  which  would  come  at  the  end  of  days,  when  God  will 
execute  His  judg.i.«_nt  upon  the  heathen  nations  by  pouring 
forth  all  the  terrors  of  nature  upon  them.  'I'he  natural  forces 
of  destruction  are  utilized  by  the  Ruler  of  heaven  as  means  of 
moral  purilication.     " For  by  fire  will  the  Lord  contend."  » 

In  this  process  the  sense  of  right  became  progressively  re- 
fined, .so  that  God  was  made  the  Defender  of  the  cause  of  the 
oppressed,  and  the  holiest  of  duties  became  the  protection  of 
the  forsaken  and  unfortunate.  Justice  and  right  were  thus 
lifted  out  of  the  civil  or  forensic  sphere  into  that  ol  divine 
holiness,  and  the  struggle  for  the  down-trodden  became  an 
imperative  duty.  Judaism  finds  its  strength  in  the  oft- 
repeated  doctrine  that  the  moral  welfare  of  the  world  rests 
upon  justice.  "The  King's  strength  is  that  he  loveth  justice," 
sa}s  the  Psalmist,  and  commenting  upon  this  the  xMidrash 
says,"  Not  might,  but  right  forms  the  foundation  of  the  world's 
peace." ^ 

^  6.  Social  life,  therefore,  must  be  built  upon  the  firm  founda- 
tion of  justice,  the  full  recognition  of  the  rights  of  all  individuals 
and  all  classes.  It  can  be  based  neither  upon  the  formal 
administration  of  law  nor  upon  the  elastic  principle  of  love, 
which  too  often  tolerates,  or  even  approves  certain  types  of 
injustice.  Judaism  has  been  working  through  the  centuries 
to  realize  the  ideal  of  justice  to  all  mankind  ;  therefore  the  Jew 
has  suffered  and  waited  for  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  God  of 
justice.  God's  kingdom  of  justice  is  to  be  established,  not  in 
a  world  to  come,  but  in  the  world  that  now  is.  in  the  life  of 
•  Isa.  LXVI,  16.  1  Ps.  XCIX,  4 ;  Tanh.  Mishpatim  i. 


GODS  JUSTICE 


123 


men  and  nations.  As  the  German  poet  has  it,  "Die  Weltge- 
schichte  ist  das  Weltgericht"  (the  history  of  the  world  is  the 
world's  tribunal  of  justice). 

7.  The  recognition  of  G(k1  as  the  righteous  Ruler  implies  a 
dominion  of  absolute  iustice  which  allows  no  wrongdoing  to 
remain  unpunished  and  no  meritorious  act  to  remain  unre- 
warded. The  moral  and  intellectual  maturity  of  the  people, 
however,  must  determine  how  they  concei\'e  retribution  in  the 
divine  judgment.  Under  the  simple  conditions  of  patriarchal 
life,  when  commt)n  cxperien<  e  seemed  to  be  in  harmony  with 
the  demands  of  divine  justice,  when  the  evil-doer  seemed  to 
meet  his  fate  and  the  wt)rthy  man  to  enjoy  his  merited  pros- 
perity, reward  and  punishment  could  well  be  expressed  by 
the  Bible  in  terms  of  national  prosperity  and  calamity.  The 
prophets,  impressed  by  the  political  and  moral  decline  of 
their  era,  announced  for  both  Israel  and  the  other  nations  a 
day  of  judgment  to  come,  when  God  will  manifest  Himself  as 
the  righteous  Ruler  of  the  world.  In  fact,  those  great 
preachers  of  righteousness  announced  for  all  time  the  truth  of  a 
moral  government  of  the  world,  with  terror  for  the  malefactors 
and  the  assurance  of  peace  and  salvation  for  the  righteous. 
"He  will  judge  the  world  with  righteousness,  and  thr  peoples 
with  eq"'.ity"  becomes  a  song  of  joyous  confidence  and  hope 
on  the  lips  of  the  Psalmist.'  This  final  triumi)h  of  justice  does 
not  depend,  as  Christian  theologians  assert,  on  the  mere  out- 
ward conformity  of  Israel  to  the  law.'^  On  the  contrary,  it 
ofTers  to  the  innocent  sufferer  the  hope  that  "his  right  shall 
break  forth  as  light,"  while  "the  wicked  shall  be  put  to  silence 
in  darkness."  '  We  must  admit,  indeed,  that  the  Biblical 
idea  of  retribution  still  has  too  much  of  the  earthly  flavor,  and 

'Ps.  XCVI,  13;  XCVIII,  9. 

'See  Bousset,  1.  c,  3.S7-366;  Weber,  '  c,  liir^'O.  and  romp.  Suk.  30  a, 
where  ii  is  stated,  referring  to  Isa.  L\I,  S,  that  "good  deeds  can  never  justify 
evil  acts." 

'  Hosca  VI,  6;  Ps.  XXXVII,  6;   I  Sam.  II,  9. 


■M 


^^ 


124 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


vh 


p 

II 


often  latks  true  spiritualitj .  Tlu-  ixplanation  of  this  lies  in 
the  (K?,iro  of  the  expouiidi  rs  .if  Judaism  that  this  w<nUl  should 
be  reKanirc!  as  the  l)attk-K'n.uii(|  lut  eni  the  <,'m.><|  ami  the 
bad,  that  the  vit  t.iry  of  the  k.mkI  ix  t<i  be  <leeide<l  /un\  and  tjiat 
the  idea  of  justi.e  should  U(.t  assume  the  eharaetcr  of  othcr- 
vvorldliness. 

S.    It  is  true  that   neither  the  propliets,  such  as  Jeremiah, 
nor  the  sages,  sueh  as  the  authors  of  Job  and  Koheieth,  actually 
solved  the  great  enigma  vvhii  h  has  ballled  all  nations  and  ages, 
the  adjustment  of  merit  and  destiny  by  divine  righteousness. 
Vet  even     doul)ter  like  Job  docs  not  despair  of  his  own  sense 
of  justice,  and  wrestles  with  his  (J.kI  in  the  elTort  to  obtain  a 
deeper  insight.     Still  the  great  ma^s  of  peopK-  are  not  satisfied 
with  an  unfulfilled  yearning  and  seeking.     The  various  reli- 
gions have  gradually  transferred  the  final  adjustment  of  merit 
and  destiny  to  the  hereafter;    the  rewards  and  jjunishments 
awaiting  man  after  death   have   been  dej)ieted  glaringly  in 
colors  taken  from  this  earthly  life.     It  is  not  surprising  that 
Juilaism  was  influenenl  by  this  almost  universal  view.     The 
mechanical  form  of  the  princi[)le  of  justice  demands  that  "with 
the  same  measure  one  metes  out,  it  shall  be  meted  out  to 
him,"*  and  this  could  not  be  found  either  in  human  justice 
or  in  human  destiny.     The-efore  the  popular  mind  naturally 
turned  to  the  world  to  come,  ex{>ecting  there  that  just  retribu- 
tion which  is  lacking  on  earth. 

Only  superior  minds  could  ascend  to  that  higher  ethical 
conception  where  compensation  is  no  longer  expected,  but 
man  seeks  the  good  and  happiness  of  others  and  finds  therein 
his  highest  satisfaction.  As  Ik-n  Azzai  expresses  it,  "The 
reward  of  virtue  is  virtue,  and  th"  punishment  of  sin  is  sin."^ 
At  this  point  justice  merges  into  divine  holiness. 

>  Sota  I,  7-8 ;  Tos.  Sota  HI ;   Mek.  .Shirah  4 ;  B.  Wisdom  XV.  5 ;  XD.,  17 ; 
Jubilees  IV,  .^,  elsewhere,  comp.  Math.  VII.  :,  and  parallels. 
'  ALolL  IV,  2. 


iMl' 


1 


i;::-r"^:,¥r^.r^^'C'ifgr"^*^ 


(iODs  jisrici: 


i^i 


I).  The  idiM  of  (liviru-  justirc  cxrrud  ils  uplifting  force  in 
one  mon-  way  in  jufl.iisni.  'Ilu-  n-coK'nitioii  of  (i.ul  as  the 
righteous  Juiln«'  «>f  tlif  world  /.iilditk  lt,i  Pin  '  i-,  to  l)ring 
consolation  ami  nidiirancc  to  tlir  aOlit  tril,  and  to  rinio\r 
from  their  hearl>  the  liifter  >tinj,'  (tf  dc^i)air  and  doul>t.  'I  he 
rahhis  called  (iod  "the  Riyhteous  One  of  the  univerM,"  -  as  if 
ti)  indicate  that  (iod  himself  is  meant  hy  the  S*  riptural  verM', 
"The  righteous  is  an  everlasting  foundation  of  thi-  world."' 

Far  remote  from  Judaism,  however,  is  the  doctrine  that  (iod 
would  consign  an  otherwise  righteous  man  to  etc  rnal  doom, 
because  he  belong>  to  another  i  reed  or  another  race  than  that 
of  the  Jew.  Wherever  the  heathens  are  spoken  of  as  con- 
demned at  the  last  judgment,  the  [)resumption  based  upon 
centuries  of  sad  experience  was  that  their  lives  were  full  of 
injustice  and  wickedness.  Ituleed,  milder  teachers,  whose 
view  became  the  acieplid  one,  maintained  that  truly  righteous 
men  are  found  among  the  heathen,  who  have  therefore  as 
much  claim  upon  eternal  s.dvation  as  the  pious  ones  of  Israel.* 

>  Sec  I.tvy,  \V.  B. :  Ziddnk;  romp.  \.\.  I.\.  j;;   I.am.  f,  iH;    N'lh.  IX,  ij. 


•Gen.  K.  XLIX,  ig;    Vonm  .57  a. 


i'rov.  X, 


*  Sec  To-.  Sanh.  XIII,  1;   Sanli.   105  ;i;   V.ilkut   Isaiah  j./j;    Crc!>tas;  Or 
Adottai,  III,  44. 


=1  i 


li 


tri 

ii 


» 


(  IIAPTKR   XX 

(iod's  Lovf.  and  Compassion 

I.   As  jiistiV,-  forms  the  basis  of  human  morality,  with  kind- 
ness and  iH-ni-volcnii-  as  mildtr  clenu-nts  to  mitigate  its  stern- 
ness, so,  atcordinK  to  the  Jewish  view,  mercy  ami  love  rep- 
resent the  milder  side  of  (;.hI,  but  hy  no  means  a  higher 
attribute  o.unterat  ting  His  justiie.    Love  ran  su|>f)lement  jus- 
tice, but  cannot  replace  it.  The  sages  say  : '  "When  the  Creator 
saw  that  man  could  not  endure,  if  measured  by  the  st  mdard 
of  strict  justice,  Jle  joined  His  attril)ute  of  mercy  to  that  of 
justice,  and  created  man  by  the  combined  prim  iple  of  both." 
The  divine  com{)assion  with  human  frailty,  felt  by  both  Moses 
:  nd  Hosea,  manifests  itself  in  (WkI's  meny.     Were  it  not  for 
ihe  weakness  of  the  flesh,  justiie  would  have  sufTued.     But 
the  divine  plan  of  salvation  demands  redeeming  love  which 
wins  humanity  step  by  step  for  higher  moral  ends.     The  educa- 
tional value  of  this  love  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  a  gift  of  grace, 
bestowed  on  man  by  the  fatherly  love  of  God  to  ward  ofT  the 
severity  of  full  retribution.     His  pardon  must  conduce  to  a 
deeper  mora!  earnestness.^     "For  with  Thee  there  is  forgive- 
ness that  Thou  mayest  be  feared." »     R.  Akiba  says:   "The 
world  is  judged  by  the  divine  attribute  of  goodness."  < 

u    T""  vv.y.'"'  '"^''    •'^"'   "•    ^"''^    ''''^'  »"  ''■'    '-X>^XrX.   ,;    romp. 

•^'/;';     .  '"•  "  •  T^"'^™"'^  "f  X"  »''''r. :  /ebulon  o ;  Ap.  H.aruch  XLVIII, 

14;   U   Lsdras  Vllf,  ji;    Psalms  of  Solomon  IX,  7:    Prayer  of  Manassoh.  8, 

' ^5!  J-  K  .  Y*-  "L"^<^"    B°lJ'  Weber.  1.  c,  57  f.  and  Boussct.  I.  c,  443  f. 
show  Chnsti.in  bias. 

'  Ps.  CXXX,  4. 

•Aboth  III,  ,9;  comp.  B.  Wisdom  XI.  23,  26:    XII,  16.  18;   Ben  Sirs, 

XI,  Id. 

136 


'.',•  't^s.i 


t ,.  I  i  1 


COD'S  UWK   AM)  COMPASSION 


«-'7 


a.  A-»iimatlert)f  cnur^w.in  the  Bibl'al  view  Gixf^mrrry  was 
reallzitl  al  tir^l  only  with  regard  to  hrael  ami  wan  afterward 
extende<i  gradually  to  humanity  at  large.  The  generatitm  of 
the  fliMxl  and  tin  Inhabitants  of  S«»<lom  jH-ri^hed  on  account 
of  their  guilt,  atul  only  the  righteous  weresuvetl.  Thii  attitude 
hoUls  throughout  the  hihie  until  the  late  IxMtk  of  Jttn.ih,  with 
its  lesson  of  (iod's  forgiveness  even  for  the  heathen  tityof 
Nineveh  after  du<-  rejM-ntant  e  In  the  later  Psalms  the  divine 
attributes  »)f  merry  are  expanded  and  a()|)li«'d  to  all  the  i  rea- 
tures  of  GikI.'  According  to  the  sch«M)l  of  Hillel,  whenever 
the  goiMJ  and  evil  actions  of  any  man  arc  found  equal  in  the 
scales  of  justice,  (lod  inclines  the  balances  toward  the  .sitle  of 
mercy.'  Nay  more,  in  the  w«)rds  of  Samuel,  the  Habylotjian 
teacher,  God  judges  the  nations  by  the  noblest  t>-|) "s  they 
protlucc.* 

The  ruling  Sadducean  priesthood  in>*isted  on  the  rigid 
enforcement  of  the  law.  The  party  of  the  pious,  the  Ilasidim, 
however,  —  according  tt>  the  liturgy,  the  ai>ocryphal  an  1  the 
rabbinical  literature,  a|>|HMled  to  the  mercy  of  Clod  in  »ong 
and  prayer,  acknowledging  their  failings  in  humility,  and  made 
kindness  and  love  their  .sjK'cial  objects  in  life.  Therefore  with 
their  ascendancy  the  divine  attributes  of  mercy  and  com- 
passion were  accentuated.  Go<l  himself,  we  are  told,  was 
heard  praying:  "Oh  that  My  attribute  of  mercy  may  prevail 
over  My  attribute  of  justice,  so  that  grace  alone  may  be 
bestowed  u[>on  My  children  on  earth."  *  And  the  second  word 
of  the  Decalogue  was  so  interpretcil  that  Gixl's  mercy  — 
which  is  said  to  extend  "to  the  thousandth  generation"  —  is 
five  hundred  times  as  powerful  as  His  punitive  justice,  — 
which  is  applied  "to  the  third  and  fourth  generation."  ' 


'  Ps.  CXLIV,  »-o;  comp.  Ben  Sira,  XVIII,  13. 

» Tos.  Sanh.  XII!,  3.  •  Yer.  R.  h.  Sh.  I,  57  a.  •  Ber.  7  a. 

•Tos.  Sola  IV,  I,  with  reference  to  E.x.  XX,  5-6.     The  plural,  laaldfim,  is 
taken  to  mean  two  thousand. 


m8 


JKWISM    rMK,(U.()(;v 


V    O.vinr  mrny  shown  itM-lf  in  Ihr  l.iw,  whrrr  com|>a,*|,m 
IH  cnjoimvl  o„  all  sulf.  ri„K  cr.-.Uur.H      frofoumi  Hympalhy 
with  thf  u,,,,roM,l  ,\  ,..h.H.,|  i„  ,1,,  .,„,i.M„  law  ..(  iho  |KH,r 
who  ha.l  to  «,v.-  up  hi.  Karnunt  as  a  pK.lK,. ;   ••  VVhr-n  he  iritth 
unto  M...  I  .hall  hrar,  for  I  an.  K'r.uiouH,"  '     I,,  ,1,.  ol,|  H.ihy. 
I«"";'"  -«l.-.  miK'hl  vva,  thr  ari,it.r  of  rixht,'  but  thr  uniqur 
g.n.UH  of  (h..  Jrw  U  ^hown  in  a.laptiuK  thi^  .am.-  IckuI  material 
I..  ilH  impuJM-  of .  ompa.sion.     The-  .ry  of  th.  innmrnt  .utT.rrr 
of  the  forsal  en  and  fatherless,  ris«-H  u|>  to  (i.Kls  throne  .in.l 
scvurt's  there  hi^  right   again.t   the  oppressor.     Thus  in  the 
Mosaic  law  an.l  throughout  J.  wish  literature  (mkI  calls  him- 
self "  the  Ju.lge  of  the  wi.low.  "  '•  Uu-  Father  of  the  fatherless  '"» 
"a   StroUKhoM    to   the   needy''      Ih-   .alls   the   ,,oor.   "My 
jH-ople.      and,  as  the  rahhis  say.  He  loves  the  iK-rscvutcd.  not 
the  jK-rsecutors.* 

4  Kven  to  dun.l,  beasts  G,„i  extends  His  mercy  This 
Jewish  tenderness  is  an  inheritan.e  from  the  shepherd  life  of 
the  patriarchs,  who  were  ea^er  to  ,,uench  the  thirst  of  the 
aninials.,  their  care  befon-  they  thought  of  their  ..wn  com- 
fort. I  his  sense  of  sympathy  apjuars  in  the  Biblical  pre- 
cepts as  to  the  overburdene.1  beast."  the  ox  treading  the  corn  • 
and  the  moth.r-beast  or  moth.-r  bir.l  with  her  young.'Oas  well 
as  the  ralmu.lic  rule  f.rst  to  feed  the  .lomestic  animals  and 
Xhcn  sit  down  to  the  meal."  This  hasremaine.l  a  characteristic 
tra.  of  Judaism.  Thus,  in  c.mnection  with  the  verso  of  the 
I  salm,  llH  tender  mercies  ar.-  over  all  Mis  works  '"^  it  is 
related  of  Rabbi  Judah  the  S.iint .  the  re.ia,  tor  of  the  Mishnah, 

Kx.  XXII,  j6;   comp.  11,  ij 

2r.  Z:^;  ^*'7";'^-  '""/  .'A..-..  C-.,lo«ne.  ...o,,.     .Also  ,M.  Ja^r.^ 
•I)eut.  X,  18;    Ps,  LXXin.  .|„,    XXV  4  »  Ft    Vvri 

I.x  XXIII.  5.       ^   .  „,„    XXV.  »  ..  Lev.  XX,  ,S;   Dout.  XXII.  6 

-  .=,  ■■■.■.,:■.  rcicrCuCC  U,  i>tnn    XI,  . ,-.  u  p,   CXLX,  9. 


II  r. 


■*■ ^j  f  ,.i-  f    r  '», 


OD'S   I.OVK  AND  COMPASSION 


ii«> 


that  he  was  aJllictetl  with  pain  for  thirtfpn  yean,  and  «avc 
a«  rcavm  that  he  i.ncr  ^^r^l.  k  .uul  kiikr.l  away  a  i..lf  whiih 
had  run  t..  him  moaning  for  profiu  tion  .  \\v  wa-.  linall)  ri-lic\ t-d, 
aftrr  hf  had  LuikIiI  hi,  ho-isihuld  to  h.ivi-  pity  tv,ii  on  the 
Hmall.^t  of  irc.ilur.H  '  It)  f.„  t.  k.ihhan  (ianialiil,  hi.  «rind- 
fathc-f,  ha.l  lauK'hl  tx  f.,rr  him:  '•  U  h..M,cvrr  ht>  lump.i.Mon 
on  his  friiow  .n.iiiircH.  on  him  (i.>.|  will  Inv.-  (..nipa,  i..r,  "' 
Tho  saK.-s  oftcti  intrrprtt  th.-  [ihr.iM'  ••  I'.,  w.i!;  in  tlir  way  ..f 
the-   I.urd""        (h.it    i,,    ".\^   thr    lluly   Oiu-.    I  irsHd   i,c   He,   ^ 

nu-rciful,  so  he  yr  .li,..  miT(  iful  "  ^ 

S.  ThiH  Iht'  rahl.is  ,  amc  t..  rc^.inl  Unr  a-,  tin-  innermost 
part  of  (kmI's  lu-iriK  (,W  /,n7 »  ni.iiikiml.  i-  the  hiKhi-nt  sta^'c 
of  const  iousm-ss  ..f  (;,„!  hut  ihi^  tan  h.-  aftained  oidy  hy  the 
ilosist  r.'lation  of  the  human  soul  to  ilic  M..,i  ^i^h.  after 
w'VtTc  trials  havt-  soft.iud  and  humaiii/cd  the  spirit.  It  is  not 
aieidental  that  Scripture  sp«aks  often  ..f  (lud's  g.H^dness, 
merry.  an<l  ^rate,  hut  s.ldom  mentions  His  love.  Possibly 
the  term  uhafxih  was  us.d  .n  fir^t  for  sinsu.ms  love  and  there- 
f«)re  was  not  em[)loyed  mr  (ic  I  m,  „iu-n  as  the  more  sjarifual 
/n-srd,  which  denotes  kind  and  li.yal  alTeetion.'  However, 
Hosea  Usui  this  term  for  his  own  love  for  his  faithless  wif.-,  and' 
did  not  hesitate  to  apply  it  also  to  God's  h.ve  for  His  faithless 
|K'o{>le.  whi.h  he  terms  "a  love  of  frre  will."  ^  His  e.xample 
is  followed  hy  Jeremiah,  most  tender  of  the  prophets,  who  Rave 
the  t  lassie  expression  to  the  everlasting  love  of  (iod  tor  Israel, 
His  beloved  son.«  This  divine  love,  s[)iritually  understoofj,' 
forms  the  chief  t«>pic  of  the  Deuteronomic  addres.ses.^  In  this 
iMJok  (iod's  love  appears  as  that  of  a  father  for  his  son.  who 
lavishes  jjifts  u[)on  him,  hut  also  chastises  him  for  his  own 

'  B.  M.  .Ssa;    Ver.  Kil.  IX,  4. 

'  fos.  H.  K.  \K,  \o:  Sifn-,  ncui.  oft, 

•Sifrc,  Dfut.  5  .(■>;   .Sh:it>.  r.u  I,;   ,„m[).  I'hilo:   D,-  llumaniuitf. 

•Seo  Com. ir.laticc  to  ,;/(.;'..;/<  ati.l  A,  J,  J.     .\ote  especially  IIos    VI   6 


vr 


'Jer.  XXXI,  2,  ir 


Xl\ 


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m 

ill 


ll 


; 


\i  1 

!S<   I 

!l  I 


Deut.  VII,  8;  X,  15. 


13° 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


If 


i! 


w 


H' 


..f' 


» 


good/  The  mind  opened  more  and  more  to  regard  the  trials 
sent  by  God  as  means  of  ennobling  the  character,'  and  the 
men  of  the  Talmudic  period  often  speak  of  the  afflictions  of 
the  saints  as  "visitations  of  the  divine  love."  * 

6.  The  sufTerings  of  Israel  in  particular  were  taken  to  be 
trials  of  the  divine  love.*  God's  love  for  Israel,  "His  first- 
born son,"  ^  is  not  partial,  but  from  the  outset  aims  to  train 
him  for  his  woi.d  mission.  The  Song  of  Mofcs  speaks  of  the 
love  of  the  Father  for  His  son  "whom  He  found  in  the  wilder- 
ness" ;  •  and  this  is  requited  by  the  bridal  love  of  Israel  with 
which  the  people  "went  after  God  in  the  wilderness."  '  It  is 
this  love  of  God,  according  to  Akiba's  interpretation  of  the 
Song  of  Songs,  which  "all  the  waters  could  not  quench,"  "a 
love  as  strong  as  death."  *  This  love  raised  up  a  nation  of 
martyrs  without  parallel  in  history,  although  the  followers  of 
the  so-called  Religion  of  Love  fail  to  give  it  the  credit  it 
deserves  and  seem  to  regard  it  as  a  kind  of  hatred  for  the  rest 
of  mankind.'  Whenever  the  paternal  love  of  God  is  truly 
felt  and  understood  it  must  include  all  classes  and  all  souls  of 
men  who  enter  into  the  relation  of  children  to  God.  Wherever 
emphasi  is  laid  upon  the  special  love  for  Israel,  it  is  based  upon 
the  love  with  which  the  chosen  people  cling  to  the  Torah, 
the  word  of  God,  upon  the  devotion  with  which  they  surrender 
their  lives  in  His  cause.'" 

7.  Still,  Judaism  does  not  proclaim  love,  absolute  and  un- 
restricted, as  the  divine  principle  of  life.  That  is  left  to  the 
Church,  whose  history  almost  to  this  day  records  ever  so  many 
acts  of  lovelessness.  Love  is  unworthy  of  God,  unless  it  is 
guided  by  justice.    Love  of  good  must  be  accompanied  by 

'  Deut.  VIII,  5  ;  see  Sifre,  Deut.  32.  »  Prov.  Ill,  13. 

'  Ber.  5  a;   Sifre,  1.  c. ;   Mek.  ^'ithro  10.  *  See  Mek.  and  Sifre,  1.  c. 

»  Ex.  IV,  22.  •  Deut.  XXXII,  6,  .0  f.  '  Jer.  II,  2. 

'  SotiR  of  Songs,  R.  to  III,  7.     Comp.  Davidson,  1.  c,  235-287. 
'  See  Schreincr,  1.  c,  103-1 12  ;  Perles  :  Boussel,  58  f. 
'-  Fesik,  16-17  I  Mek.  Yithru  6,  at  cad. 


GOD'S  LOVE  AND  COMPASSION 


i.^i 


hate  of  evil,  or  else  it  lacks  the  educative  power  which  alone 
makes  it  beneficial  to  man. 

God's  love  manifests  itself  in  human  life  as  an  educative 
power.  R.  Akiba  says  that  it  extends  to  all  created  in  God's 
image,  although  the  knowledge  of  it  was  vouchsafed  to  Israel 
alone.'  This  universal  love  of  God  is  a  doctrine  of  the  apoc- 
ryphal literature  as  well.  "  Thou  hast  mercy  upon  all  ...  for 
Thou  lovest  all  things  that  are,  and  hatest  nothing  which 
Thou  hast  made.  .  .  .  But  Thou  sparest  all,  for  they  are  Thine, 
O  Lord,  Lover  of  souls,"  says  the  Book  of  Wisdom ;  ^  and  when 
Ezra  the  Seer  laments  the  calamity  that  has  befallen  the  people, 
God  replies,  "Thinkest  thou  that  thou  lovest  My  creatures 
more  than  I?"^ 

8.  Among  the  mystics  divine  love  was  declared  to  be  the 
highest  creative  principle.  They  ref'^-a-d  the  words  of  the 
Song  of  Songs, —  "The  midst  thereof  is  paved  with  love,"* 
to  the  innermost  palace  of  heaven,  where  stands  the  throne  of 
God.*  Among  the  philosophers  Crescas  considered  love  the 
active  cosmic  principle  rather  than  intellect,  the  principle  of 
Aristotle,  because  it  is  love  which  is  the  impulse  for  creation.' 
This  conception  of  divine  love  received  a  peculiarly  mystic 
color  from  Juda  Abravanel,  a  neo-Platonist  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  known  as  Leo  Hebraeus.  He  says:  "God's  love 
must  needs  unfold  His  perfection  and  beauty,  and  reveal  itself 
in  His  creatures,  and  love  for  these  creatures  must  again  elevate 
an  imperfect  world  to  His  own  perfection.  Thus  is  engendered 
in  man  that  yearning  for  love  with  which  he  endeavors  to 
emulate  the  divine  perfection."  ^  Both  Crescas  and  Leo 
Hebraeus  thus  gave  the  keynote  for  Spinoza's  "Intellectual 
love"  as  the  cosmic  principle,*  and  this  has  been  echoed  ev  n 

»  Aboth  III,  14.  t  XI,  23-26.  '  IV  Esdra  VIII,  47. 

*ni,  10.  'Zoharl,  44  b;   II,  07  a. 

•  See  Or  Adonal,  I,  3,  5,  and  Joel :  Crescas  36-37. 

'  Dialoghi  di  A  more;  sec  Zimmels  :  Leo  Hebraeus,  i886. 

*  Ethics  V,  propobitioii  XXXV. 


Hi 


HI 


i*i 


,\'>l 


IH 


w 

m 


■ili 


I 


13a 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


in  such  works  as  Schiller's  dithyrambs  on  "Love  and  Friend- 
ship" in  his  "Philosophic  Letters."*  Still  this  neo-Platonic 
view  has  nothing  in  common  with  the  theological  conception 
of  love.  In  Judaism  God  is  conceived  as  a  loving  Father, 
who  purposes  to  lead  man  to  happiness  and  salvation.  In  other 
words,  the  divine  love  is  an  essentially  moral  attribute  of  God, 
and  not  a  metaphysical  one. 

9.  If  we  wish  to  speak  of  a  oower  that  permeates  the  cosmos 
and  turns  the  wheel  of  life,  it  is  far  more  correct  to  speak  of 
God's  creative  goodness.^  According  to  Scripture,  each  day's 
creation  bears  the  divine  approval :  "  It  is  good." '  Even  the 
evil  which  man  experiences  serves  a  higher  purpwse,  and  that 
purpose  makes  for  the  good.  Misfortune  and  death,  sorrow 
and  sin,  in  the  great  economy  of  life  are  all  turned  into  final 
good.  Accordingly,  Judaism  recognizes  this  divine  goodness 
not  only  in  every  enjoyment  of  nature's  gifts  and  the  favors  of 
fortune,  but  also  in  sad  and  trying  experiences,  and  for  all 
of  these  it  provides  special  formulas  of  benediction.*  The 
same  divine  goodness  sends  joy  and  grief,  even  though  short- 
sighted man  fails  to  see  the  majestic  Sun  of  life  which  shines 
in  unabated  splendor  above  the  clouds.  Judaism  was  optimis- 
tic through  all  its  experiences  just  because  of  this  implicit 
faith  in  God's  goodness.  Such  faith  transforms  each  woe  into 
a  higher  welfare,  each  curse  into  actual  blessing ;  it  leads  men 
and  nations  from  oppression  to  ever  greater  freedom,  from 
darkness  to  ever  brighter  light,  and  from  error  to  ever  higher 
truth  and  righteousness.  Divine  love  may  have  pity  upon 
human  weakness,  but  it  is  divine  goodness  that  inspires  and 
quickens  human  energy.  After  all,  love  cannot  be  the  domi- 
nant principle  of  life.  Man  cannot  love  all  the  time,  nor  can  he 
love  all  the  worid ;  his  sense  of  justice  demands  that  he  hate 

•  "The  Theosophy  of  Julius":  "God." 

•  Middalh  lobah. 

»  Gen.  I,  4,  10,  12,  18,  21.  23.  .31. 

•  Gen.  R.  IX,  5,  g;  Ber.  60  a;  Yer.  Ber.  K,  13  c-14  b;  Taan.  21  a. 


GOD'S  LOVE  AND  COMPASSION 


^33 


wickedness  and  falsehood.  We  must  apply  the  same  criterion 
to  God.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  man  can  and  should  do  good 
and  be  good  continually  and  to  all  men,  even  to  the  most  un- 
worthy. Therefore  God  becomes  the  pattern  and  ideal  of  an 
all-encompassing  goodness,  which  is  never  exhausted  and 
never  reaches  an  end. 


It 


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1 


CHAPTER  XXI 
God's  Truth  and  Faithfulness 

1.  In  the  Hebrew  language  truth  and  faithfulness  are  both 
derived  from  the  same  root;  aman,  "firmness,"  is  the  root 
idea  of  cmclh,  "truth,"  and  cmunah,  "faithfulness."  Man 
feels  insecurity  and  uncertainty  among  the  varying  impressions 
and  emotions  which  afTect  his  will ;  therefore  he  turns  to  the 
immovable  Rock  of  life,  calls  on  Him  as  the  Guardian  and 
Witness  of  truth,  and  feels  confident  that  He  will  vindicate 
every  promise  made  in  His  sight.  He  is  the  God  by  whom 
men  swear  —  Elohc  amen ; '  nay,  who  swears  by  Himself, 
saying,  "As  true  as  that  I  live."^  He  is  the  supreme  Power  of 
Hfe,  "the  God  of  faithfulness,  in  whom  there  is  no  iniquity."' 
The  heavens  testify  to  His  faithfulness ;  He  is  the  trustworthy 
God,  whose  essence  is  truth.* 

2.  Here,  too,  as  with  other  attributes,  the  development  of 
the  idea  may  be  traced  step  by  step.  At  first  it  refers  to  the 
God  of  the  covenant  with  Israel,  who  made  a  covenant  with 
the  fathers  and  keeps  it  with  the  thousandth  generation  of  their 
descendants.  He  shows  His  mercy  to  those  who  love  Him  and 
keep  His  commandments.  The  idea  of  God's  faithfulness  to 
His  covenant  is  thus  extended  gradually  from  the  people  to  the 
cosmos,  and  the  heavens  are  called  upon  to  witness  to  the  faith- 
fulness of  God  throughout  the  realm  of  life.    Thus  in  both  the 

>  Isa.  LXV,  1 6.  «  Deut.  XXXII,  40.  »  Deut.  XXXII,  4. 

<Xum.  XXIII,  19;  Isa.  XL,  8;  Jer  X,  10,  Ps.  XXXI,  6;  comp.  DilJ- 
mann,  1.  c.  269  f. 

134 


GOD'S  TRUTH  AND   FAITHFULNESS 


135 


Psalms  and  the  liturgy  God  is  praised  as  the  One  who  is  faith- 
ful in  His  word  as  in  His  work.' 

3.  From  this  conception  of  faithfulness  arose  two  other 
ideas  which  exerted  a  powerful  influence  upon  the  whole 
spiritual  and  intellectual  life  of  the  Jew.  The  God  of  faithful- 
ness created  a  people  of  faithfulness  as  His  own,  and  Israel's 
God  of  truth  awakened  in  the  nation  a  passion  for  truth  un- 
rivaled by  any  other  religious  or  philosophical  system.  Like 
a  silver  stream  running  through  a  valley,  the  conviction  runs 
through  the  sacred  writings  and  the  liturgy  that  the  promise 
made  of  yore  to  the  fathers  will  be  fulfdled  to  the  children.  As 
each  past  deliverance  from  distress  was  considered  a  verifica- 
tion of  the  divine  faithfulness,  so  each  hope  for  the  future  was 
based  upon  the  same  attribute.  "He  keepeth  His  faith  also 
to  those  who  sleep  in  the  dust."  These  words  of  the  second 
of  the  Eighteen  Benedictions  clearly  indicate  that  even  the 
belief  in  the  hereafter  rested  upon  the  same  fundamental 
belief. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  same  conception  formed  the  kejTio'cC 
of  the  idea  of  the  divine  truthfulness.  The  primitive  age  knew 
nothing  of  the  laws  of  nature  with  which  we  have  become 
familiar  through  modem  science.  But  the  pious  soul  trusts 
the  God  of  faithfulness,  certain  that  He  who  has  created  the 
heaven  and  the  earth  is  true  to  His  own  word,  and  will  not 
allow  them  to  sink  back  into  chaos.  One  witness  to  this  is  the 
rainbow,  which  He  has  set  up  in  the  sky  as  a  sign  of  His 
covenant.'  The  sea  and  the  stars  also  have  a  boundary 
assigned  to  them  which  they  cannot  transgress.-^  Thus  to  the 
unsophisticated  religious  soul,  with  no  knowledge  of  natural 
science,  the  world  is  carried  by  God's  "everlasting  arms"''  and 


i  - 

i  i 


>Ps.  XXXV^  ":  LXXXIX,  3,  38;  CXLVI,  6;   Benediction  at  seeing  the 
rainbow,  Singer's       lycrbook,  p.  2yi. 

•  Gen,  TX,  1 1.  >  Ps,  CIV,  5 ;  Job  XXXVIII,  1 1 ;  Jcr.  XXXI,  34. 

«Deut.  XXXIII,  27- 


''J 


136 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


ill 


m. 


1 


His  faithfulness  becomes  token  and  pledge  of  the  immutability 
of  His  will. 

4.  At  this  point  the  intellect  grasps  an  idea  of  intrinsic  and 
indestructible  truth,  which  has  its  beginning  and  its  end  in 
God,  the  Only  One.  "The  gods  of  the  nations  are  all  vanity 
and  deceit,  the  work  of  men ;  Israel's  God  is  the  God  of  truth, 
the  living  God  and  everlasting  King."  '  With  this  cry  has 
Judaism  challenged  the  nations  of  the  world  since  the  Baby- 
lonian exile.  Its  own  adherents  it  charged  to  ponder  upon  the 
problems  of  life  and  the  nature  of  God,  until  He  would  appear 
before  them  as  the  very  essence  of  truth,  and  all  heathenish 
survivals  would  vanish  as  mist.  God  is  truth,  and  He  desires 
naught  but  truth,  therefore  hypocrisy  is  loathsome  to  him, 
even  in  the  service  of  religion.  With  this  underlying  thought 
Job,  the  bold  but  honest  doubter,  stands  above  his  friends  with 
their  affected  piety.  God  is  truth  —  this  confession  of  faith, 
recited  each  morning  and  evening  by  the  Jew,  gave  his  mind 
the  power  to  soar  into  the  highest  realms  of  thought,  and  in- 
spired his  soul  to  offer  life  and  all  it  holds  for  his  faith.  "  God 
is  the  everlasting  truth,  the  unchangeable  Being  who  ever 
remains  the  same  amid  the  fluctuations  and  changes  of  all 
other  things."  This  is  the  fundamental  principle  upon  which 
Joseph  Ibn  Zaddik  and  Abraham  Ibn  Daud,  the  predecessors 
of  Maimonides,  reared  their  entire  philosophical  systems, 
which  were  Aristotelian  and  yet  thoroughly  Jewish.* 

Mystic  lore,  always  so  fond  of  the  letters  of  the  alphabet 
and  their  hidden  meanings,  noted  that  the  letters  of  Emelh 
—  aleph,  mem  and  tav  —  are  the  first,  the  middle,  and  the  last 
letters  of  the  alphabet,  and  therefore  concluded  that  God  made 

•  Jer.  X,  10,  15. 

'  Emiina  Rama  $4-  See  Kaufmann,  1.  c,  333  f.,  352  f. ;  comp.  Guttmann  : 
Religions  philosophic  des  Ibn  Daud,  136  f. ;  Albo  II,  27,  at  the  end ;  Maimonides : 
Yesode  ha  Torah,  I,  3-4;  Hillel  of  Verona  refers  even  to  Aristotle's  "Meta- 
physics." bee  Kauimann,  I.  c,  334,  note;  Ncumark,  I.  c,  and  Htuik., 
1.  c.  passim. 


GOD'S  TRUTH  AND  FAITHFULNESS 


137 


truth  the  beginning,  the  center,  and  the  end  of  the  world.' 
Josephus  also,  no  doubt  in  accordance  with  the  same  tradition, 
declares  that  God  is  "the  beginning,  the  center,  and  the  end  of 
all  things."'  A  corresponding  rabbinical  saying  is :  "Truth 
is  the  seal  of  God.'" 

'  See  Yer.  Sanh.  I,  18  a. 

*  Contra  Apionem,  II,  22 ;  compare  J.  E.,  art.  "Alpha  and  Omega." 

•  See  Yer.  Sanh.  I,  18  a. 


i 'i 


If 

I 

I: 


.11 


CHAPTER  XXII 


1 


m 


w 


God's  Knowledge  a.vd  Wisdom 

I.  The  attempt  to  enumerate  the  attributes  of  God  rccalU 
the  story  related  in  the  Talmud  '  of  a  disciple  who  stepped  up 
to  the  reader's  desk  to  offer  prayer,  and  began  to  address  the 
Deity  with  an  endless  list  of  attributes.  When  his  vocabulary 
was  almost  exhausted,  Rabbi  Haninah  interrupted  him  with 
the  question,  "Hast  thou  now  really  finished  telling  the  praise 
of  God?"  Mortal  man  can  never  know  what  God  really  is. 
As  the  poet-philosopher  says:  "Could  I  ever  know  Him,  I 
would  be  He."  ^  But  we  want  to  ascertain  what  God  is  to  us, 
and  for  this  very  reason  wc  cannot  rest  with  the  negative 
attitude  of  Maimonides,  who  relics  on  the  Psalmist's  verse, 
"Silence  is  praise  to  Thee."  '  We  must  obtain  as  clear  a  con- 
ception of  the  Deity  as  we  possibly  can  with  our  limited  powers. 

To  the  divine  attributes  already  mentioned  we  must  add 
another  which  in  a  sense  is  the  focus  of  them  all.  This  is  the 
knowledge  and  wisdom  of  God,  the  omniscience  which  renders 
Him  all-knowing  and  all-wise.  Through  this  all  the  others 
come  into  self-consciousness.  We  ascribe  wisdom  to  the  man 
who  sets  right  aims  for  his  actions  and  knows  the  means  by 
which  to  attain  them,  that  is,  who  can  control  his  power  and 
knowledge  by  his  will  and  bene  them  to  his  purpose.  In  the 
same  manner  we  think  of  wisdom  in  view  of  the  marvelous 
order,  design,  and  unity  which  we  see  in  the  natural  and  the 
moral  world.  But  this  wisdom  must  be  all-encompassing, 
comprising  time  and  eternity,  directing  all  the  forces  and  beings 

•  Ber.  3i  b.  *  Jedayah  ha  Penini.  *  Ps.  LXV,  2. 

138 


:'mamk\ 


GOD'S   KNOWLKIKiK   AND  WISDOM 


«iy 


of  the  world  toward  the  goal  of  idtal  pcrfcrtion.'  It  makes  no 
difference  where  we  finfl  this  lesion.  The  Book  of  Proverbs 
sinRles  out  the  tiny  ant  as  an  example  of  wondrous  fore- 
thought ;  ^  the  author  of  Job  dwells  on  the  working  together  of 
the  powers  of  earth  and  hea\  i  n  to  maintain  the  cosmic  life  ;' 
modern  science,  with  its  deeper  insij^ht  into  nature,  (  nables  us 
to  follow  the  interaction  of  the  primal  chemical  and  organic 
forces,  and  to  follow  the  course  of  evolution  from  star-dust  and 
cell  to  the  structure  of  the  human  eye  or  the  thought -centers 
of  the  brain.  But  in  all  these  alike  our  c«)nclusion  must  be 
that  of  the  Psalmist :  "O  Lord,  how  manifold  are  Thy  works, 
in  wisdom  hast  Thou  madf  them  all."  ■* 

2.  Accordingly,  if  we  are  to  speak  in  human  term  we 
may  consitler  God's  wisdom  the  element  which  determine  His 
various  motive-powers,  -omniscience,  omnipoteiu  e,  and 
goodness,  —  to  tend  tt)ward  the  realizaton  of  His  co>mic  plan. 
Or  we  may  call  it  the  active  intellect  with  which  Ciod  works 
as  Creator,  Ordainer,  anrl  Ruler  of  the  universe.  The  Biblical 
account  of  creation  presui)poses  this  wisdom,  as  it  portrays  a 
logical  process,  working  after  a  definite  plan,  proceeding  from 
simpler  to  more  complex  forms  and  culminating  in  man. 
Biblical  history  likewise  is  based  upon  the  principle  of  a  di- 
vinely prearranged  plan,  winch  is  especially  striking  in  such 
stories  as  that  of  Joseph.* 

3.  At  first  the  divine  wisdom  was  supposed  to  rest  in  part  on 
specially  gifted  persons,  such  as  Josei)h,  Solomon,  and  Bezalcl. 
As  Scripture  has  it,  "The  Lord  giveth  wisdom,  out  of  His 
mouth  Cometh  knowledge  antl  understanding."  '  Later  the 
obscure  destiny  of  the  nation  appears  as  the  design  of  an  all- 
wise  Ruler  to  the  great  prophets  and  especially  to  Isaiah,  the 

•  Jer.  X,  12  ;  .\mos  IV.  13  ;  Job  XXXVIII-XXXIX.  «  Prov.  VI,  6. 

•  Job  XXXMII-XXXIX.  *  Ps.  CIV,  24. 

•  Gen.  L.  20;  sec  Dillmann,  I.e.,  2S0;  Strauss,!,  c,  575  f. ;  Hamburger,  1.  c, 
aft.  "Wcisheii  Guiles";    .\.  B.  Duvid^nr;,  1.  c,  iSo    iS;. 

•Gen.  XLI,  38;   I  Kings  III,  13;   Kx.  XXXV,  31 ;  Prov.  II,  6. 


;'■ 


140 


JEWISH  TIIEOLOttY 


.,1 


m 


«* 

1 


high-soarinRcaglc  among  the  sccrs of  Israel.'  With  the  progres- 
sive expansion  of  the  world  before  them,  the  seers  and  sages  saw 
a  sublime  purpose  in  the  history  of  the  nations,  and  felt  more 
and  more  the  supreme  pla.e  of  the  divine  wisdom  us  a  manifes- 
tation of  His  greatness.  Thus  the  great  seer  of  the  Exile  never 
tires  of  illumining  the  world-wide  plan  of  the  divine  wisdom.' 

4.  A  new  development  ensued  under  Babylonian  and 
Persian  influence  at  the  time  when  the  monotheism  of  Israel 
became  defmitely  universal.  The  divine  wi.sdom,  creative 
and  world-sustaining,  became  the  highest  of  the  divine  attri- 
butes and  was  partially  hyi>ostatized  as  an  independent  cosmic 
power.  In  the  twenty-eighth  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Job  wis- 
dom is  depicted  as  a  magic  being,  far  remote  from  all  living 
beings  of  earth,  beyond  the  reach  of  the  creatures  of  the  lowest 
abyss,  who  aided  the  Creator  with  counsel  and  knowledge  in 
measuring  and  weighing  the  foundations  of  the  world.  The 
description  seems  to  be  based  upon  an  ancient  Babylonian 
conception  —  which  has  parallels  elsewhere  —  of  a  divine 
Sybil  dwelling  beneath  the  ocean  in  "the  house  of  wisdom."' 
Here,  however,  the  mythological  conception  is  transformed 
into  a  symbolic  figure.  In  the  eighth  chapter  of  Proverbs 
the  description  of  divine  wisdom  is  more  in  accordance  with 
Jewish  monotheism  ;  wisdom  is  "  the  first  of  God's  creatures, " 
"a  master-workman"  who  assisted  Him  in  founding  heaven 
and  earth,  a  helpmate  and  playmate  of  God,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  instructor  of  men  and  counselor  of  princes,  inviting  all 
to  share  her  precious  gifts.  This  conception  is  found  also  in 
the  apocr>phal  literature.  —  in  Ben  Sira.  the  book  of  Enoch, 
the  Apocalypse  of  Baruch.  and  the  Hellenistic  Book  of  Wisdom.* 


xxviri,  29 

Cotnp.  A.  Jeremias: 


« Isa.  XL-LV. 
.1.   Test.  i.  L.  d.  i.  alt.  Orients,  5, 


•  Isa,  XXV,  I  ; 

'  Prov.  IX,  I.     Cotnp.  .\.  Jeremias:   D. 
80,  3if>,  367. 

<  Ben  Sira  XXIV.  3-6,  14,  21 ;  Enoch  XI.II,  1-2;  Slavonic  Enoch  XXX,  8; 
Baruch  III,  q-I\',  4;  comp.  Bousset,  i.  c,  3.57  f. ;  J.  E.,  art.  Wisdom; 
Bentwich  :  Philo,  pp.  141-147. 


•M 


hi 


COD'S  KNOWLEDGE  AND  WISDOM 


141 


From  this  {rtukI  two  «IIITcrcnt  currents  of  thounht  appeared. 
The  one  represented  wiMlom  as  an  in«le|)enc|fnt  bein^  distinct 
from  (i<m1.  and  this  finally  Ikh  ame  merged,  under  IMatonit  intlu- 
cncc,  into  the  views  of  neo  IMatonism.  Gnostirism.  and  the 
Christian  doj;ma.  The  other  identified  the  divine  wisdom  with 
the  Torah,  and  therefore  it  Is  the  Torah  which  served  Ciml 
as  counselor  and  mediator  at  the  Creation  pnd  continues  as 
counselor  in  the  management  «»f  the  world.  This  view  led 
back  to  strict  monotheism,  so  that  the  cosmology  of  the  rabbis 
spoke  alternately  of  the  divine  wisdom  and  the  Torah  as  the 
instruments  of  (kxl  at  Creation.' 

5.  The  Jewish  philosophers  of  the  Middle  Ages,  such  as 
Saadia,  Gabirol,  and  Jchuda  ha  Levi,  followed  the  Mohammedan 
theologians  in  enumerating  Gtwl's  wisdom  among  the  attributes 
constituting  His  essence,  together  with  His  omnipotence,  His 
will,  and  His  creative  energy.  But  they  would  not  take  wis- 
dom or  any  other  attribute  as  a  separate  being,  with  an  exist- 
ence outside  of  God,  which  would  either  condition  Him  or 
admit  a  division  of  His  nature.'  "  (iod  himself  is  wisdom,"  says 
Jehuda  ha  Levi,  referring  to  the  words  of  Job :  "He  is  wise  in 
heart." '    And  Ibn  Gabirol  sings  in  his  "Crown  of  Royalty" : 

"Thou  art  wise,  and  the  wisdom  of  Thy  fount  of  life  floweth  from  Thee; 

And  compared  with  Thy  wisdom  man  is  void  of  understanding; 

Thou  art  wise,  before  anything  began  its  existence ; 

And  wisdom  has  from  times  of  yore  lx*en  Thy  fostered  child  ; 

Thou  art  wise,  and  out  of  Thy  wisdom  didst  Thou  create  the  world, 

Life  the  artificer  that  fashioneth  whatsoever  tielighteth  him."  ' 


•  Tarj?.  Ye.-.  toCicn.  I,  1.    Gen.  R.I.  2, 5.    Sec  Schecliter  :  /I  v/»t(7s,  1^7-137. 

'  Kaufmann,  I.  c,  10,  107,  1 1  j,  i6j,  J23,  418. 

•Job  IX,  4;  Cuzari,  II,  2.  *  Sachs,  cl,  d,  227. 


•i 


I 


( iiAi'iKk  Win 

(iul)\  Condi  sri..N>loM 

I.  All  allrihiito  of  j^nal  imjMtrtaiuc  f«ir  the  thc«>l<)KiiaI 
ii)iui-|)tioi>  i>l  (iuil.  iiiu'  u|Hiri  vvhidi  Imth  liihliial  unci  rabbin- 
iial  litiTuturi-  laid  f^pciial  slrt'^*..  is  His  c<)n(k'stfn>ii)n  ami 
humility.  I'hr  l'-ilmi>t  sa>^':  "Thy  iiimU-MinNion  hath 
mailf  mi'  urcat.  "  whiih  i^  intrrpnti-tl  in  thi-  Midrurh  that 
ihi'  Dt-ity  ^t(>(t|)s  to  man  in  onlrr  to  lift  him  up  to  Ilimst-lf. 
A  familiar  saying  t»f  R.  Johanan  i^  - :  "WhiTivor  Siripture 
s[K-aks  of  th»-  ^rratnt'^s  of  (io<l,  thrrt'  nu-ntion  is  madi"  also 
of  llis  londr^ti'nsion.  So  whin  thi-  prophi't  begins,  'Thus 
saith  the  HIkIi  iind  Lofty  ( )tu'  that  inhabitith  eternity, 
vvliosi-  nanu-  i^.  Hol>  :  I  dwill  in  the  hij^h  and  h(»ly  place,' 
he  adds  the  words,  With  him  al>o  that  i^  of  a  lontrite  and 
humble  spirit."'  i)r  when  the  Deuteronomist  says:  'For 
the  Lord  your  ('<f'^\.  tlu-^reat  (iiMJ,  the  mighty  and  the  awful,' 
he  (oni  hides,  lb  doth  execute  justice  for  the  fatherless  and 
widow,  anil  luMih  the  stranger'  '  And  attain  the  Psalmist: 
'  K.xtol  Him  that  rideth  ujvm  the  skies,  whose  name  is  the  Lord, 
a  Father  of  the  fatherless  and  a  Judge  of  the  widows."'  *  "Do 
vou  deem  it  unworthy  of  Ciod  that  He  should  care  for  the 
smallest  and  most  insignificant  person  or  thing  in  the  world's 
household?"  asks  Mendelssohn  in  his  Mor^^i-iistniKlr);.  "It 
certainly  does  not  detract  from  tin-  dignity  of  a  king  to  be 
seen  fondling  his  child  as  a   loving  father,      and   he  quotes 

'Pi.  XMH,  3^  'Meg  33==  •'-  !^n   =r 

♦Dcut.  X,  17-18.  »  Ps.  LXVIII,  s-6. 

I4i 


(K)I>S  (()M»KS(F,NS|()N 


»4J 


the  VTrw  t>f  till*  psalm,  "Wh«)  in  liki-  unto  ilu-  I.onl  our  (i<»<l. 
that  in  rnthrun  -il  nt»  hiKh.  ih.U  l«Hikilh  ilnwri  low  U|K»n  heaven 
ami  u|Miii  thr  <-arth   "  ' 

i.  This  trull  ha^  a  reliKiou^  <lrplh  whi(  h  no  philoHophy 
can  M'\  fi»rth.  ()tu>  'hi'  (iod  of  Rivelation  i>.  near  to  man 
in  hi**  frailty  anil  m-ccl.  r«M«iy  to  hear  hi^  "^iKhs.  an>\vir  hi* 
»up|>liiation,  rount  his  Mrs,  and  reliev*'  hit  want-*  wluii  his 
t»wn  [xtw«T  fails  I'ljc  philoM.plnr  nuj'it  njet  t  at  futih-  «vi  ry 
attenjpt  to  hriiin  'he  iiuomprelutisihli  i--.-frHf  of  the  Deity 
within  the  tonipa--.  of  the  human  under^l.mdiiiK  The  re- 
ligious eonst '  usnets.  however,  demands  that  we  attentualc 
precisely  those  attribute^  of  (lod  whii  h  brin^  lliiti  neiretf 
to  us.  If  reas«)n  alone  would  have  the  di-t  i^ive  voire  in  thi- 
problem,  every  ntanifest.ition  of  (lod  to  man  and  every  reai  h 
ing  out  «)f  the  soul  to  Him  in  prayer  would  be  idle  fancy  and 
self-ileieit.  It  is  true  that  the  Hibliial  <onieption  was  >iiiiplt' 
and  child  like  enough,  representing  (i<Hl  as  descending  from 
the  heavens  to  the  earth  Still  Judaism  does  not  acie|)t 
the  cold  and  di>tanl  attitude  of  the  philosopher;  it  teaches 
that  Ci<h1  as  a  s|)iri(ual  [xiwer  <I(H's  condescend  to  man,  in 
t>rder  that  man  m  ly  realize  his  kinship  with  the  Most  Hi);h 
and  rise  ever  nt  ircr  to  hi^  Creator.  The  earth  whereon 
man  dwells  and  thi'  human  heart  with  itt  lon^inj?  for 
heaven,  are  not  bereft  of  (iod.  When^vi  r  man  seeks  Him, 
there  He  is. 

J.  r^abbinical  Jud  li■^ln  is  very  far  from  the  attitucle  assigned 
to  it  by  Christian  theologians,'  of  redu(  iiig  tli''  Deity  to  an 
empty  transcendental  abstrattion  and  loosining  the  bond 
which  ties  the  soul  to  its  Maker.  On  llit-  (nntrar\.  it  main- 
tains these  very  relation-  with  a  limine-,  wliii  !i  betokens 
its  soundness  and  its  profound  f>sy«hologii  il  truth.  In  this 
spirit  a  Talmudic  master  interj^rets  the  I)euterononuc  verse: 
"For  what  -at  nation  i>  there  tlu-t  hath  Cod  so  nigh  unto 
>  Ps.  CXIII,  S-«.  '  Wibcr,  I  c,  154. 


%' 


'J- 


I 


Vi 

# 


144 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


1 


1. 

Vh'' 

r  »■ ) 


them,  as  the  Lord  our  Gixl  is  whensoever  we  call  upon  Him  ?  "  * 
saying  that  "each  will  realize  the  nearness  of  God  according 
to  his  own  intellectual  and  emotional  disposition,  and  thus 
enter  into  communion  with  Him."  According  to  another 
Haggadist  the  verse  of  the  Psalm,  "The  voice  of  the  Lord 
rcsoundeth  with  power,"  *  teaches  how  God  reveals  Himself, 
not  with  His  own  overwhelming  might,  but  according  to  each 
man's  individual  power  and  capacity.  The  rabbis  even  make 
bold  to  assert  that  whenever  Israel  suffers,  God  suffers  with 
him  ;   as  it  is  written,  "  I  will  be  with  him  in  trouble."  » 

4.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  the  names  which  we  apply  to 
God  in  speech  or  in  prayer,  even  the  most  sublime  and  holy 
ones,  are  derived  from  our  own  sensory  experience  and  cannot 
be  taken  literally.  They  are  used  only  as  vehicles  to  bring 
home  to  us  the  idea  that  God's  nearness  is  our  highest  good. 
Even  the  material  world,  which  is  perceptible  to  our  senses, 
must  undergo  a  certain  inner  transformation  before  it  can  be 
termed  science  or  philosophy,  and  becomes  the  po^  session  of 
the  mind.  It  requires  still  further  exertions  of  the  Imagina- 
tion to  bring  within  our  grasp  the  world  of  the  spirit,  and  above 
all  the  loftiest  of  all  conceptions,  the  very  beinp  of  God. 
Yet  it  is  just  this  Being  of  all  Beings  who  draws  us  inesistibly 
toward  Himself,  whose  nearness  we  perceive  in  the  very 
depths  of  our  intellectual  and  emotional  life.  Our  "soul 
thirsteth  after  God,  the  living  God,"  and  behold,  He  is  nigh, 
He  takes  possession  of  us,  and  we  call  Him  our  God. 

5.  The  Haggadists  expressed  this  intimate  relation  of  God 
to  man,  and  specifically  to  Israel,  by  bold  and  often  naive 
metaphors.  They  ascribe  to  God  special  moments  for  wrath 
and  for  prayer,  a  secret  chamber  where  he  weeps  over  the 

'  Deut.  IV,  7 ;  Ver.  Ber.  IX,  19  a,  where  the  plural,  Kerobim,  suggests  the 
idea,  "all  kimis  of  nearness." 

»  Ps.  XXIX,  4 ;  Tanh.  Yithro,  ed.  Buber,  17. 
-  Vi.  XCl,  15 ;   Isa.  LXIII,  9;  Sifrc  Num.  S4. 


GOD'S  CONDESCENSION 


MS 


distress  of  Israel,  a  prayer-mantle  (tallith)  and  phylacteries 
which  He  wears  like  any  of  the  leaders  of  the  community, 
and  even  lustrations  which  He  practices  exactly  like  mortals.' 
But  such  fanciful  and  extravagant  conceptions  were  never 
taken  seriously  by  the  rabbis,  and  only  partisan  and  prejudiced 
writers,  entirely  lacking  in  a  sense  of  humor,  could  point 
to  such  passages  to  prove  that  a  theology  of  the  Synagogue 
carried  out  a  "  Judaization  of  God."  * 

'  Ber.  6a;  7  a ;  R.  ha  Sh.  1 7  b ;  Hag.  5  b ;  Sanh.  39  a.    Comp.  Schechter, 
Asperls,  p.  21-50. 

« Webe«,  1.  c,  157-160. 


!^ 


11 


« 


C.     COD  IN  RELATION   TO  THE  WORLD 


• 
1 


I 


s\ ; 

'r  ' 

t 


If ' 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

The  World  and  its  Master 

I.  In  using  the  term  world  or  universe  we  include  the 
totality  of  all  beings  at  once,  and  this  suggests  a  stage  of 
knowledge  where  polytheism  is  practically  overcome.  Among 
the  Greeks,  Pythagoras  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  t&  per- 
ceive "a  beautiful  order  of  things"  in  the  world,  and  therefore 
to  call  it  cosmos}  Primitive  man  saw  in  the  world  innumer- 
able forces  continually  struggling  with  each  other  for  suprem- 
acy. Without  an  ordering  mind  no  order,  as  we  conceive 
it,  can  exist.  The  old  Babylonian  conception  prevalent 
throughout  antiquity  divided  the  world  into  three  realms,  the 
celestial,  terrestrial,  and  the  nether  world,  each  of  which  had 
its  own  type  of  inhabitants  and  its  own  ruling  divinities.  Yet 
these  various  divine  powers  were  at  war  with  each  other,  and 
ultimately  they,  too,  must  submit  to  a  blind  fate  which  men 
and  gods  alike  could  read  in  the  stars  or  other  natural  phe- 
nomena. 

With  the  first  words  of  the  Bible,  "In  the  beginning 
God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,"  Judaism  declared 
the  world  to  be  a  unity  and  Ciod  its  Creator  and  Master. 
Heathenism  had  always  beheld  in  the  world  certain  blind 
forces  of  nature,  working  without  plan  or  purpose  and  df^void 

'  Plutarch:  "De  pl.icitis  philosophiac,"  II,  i ;  comp.  for  the  entire  chapter 
Dillmann.  1.  c.  284-3Q5 ;  Smcnd:  1.  c,  454  f ■ ;  H.  Steinthal :  "Dk-  Idee  der 
Schofjfung"  in  J.  B.  z.  Jued.  Gesch.  u.  Lit.,  II,  ,?o-44. 

146 


W^? 


THE  WORLD  AND   ITS  MASTER 


147 


of  any  moral  aims.  But  Judaism  sees  in  the  world  the  work 
of  a  supreme  Intellect  who  fashioned  it  according  to  His  will, 
and  who  rules  in  freedom,  wisdom,  and  goodness.  "He 
spoke,  and  it  was ;  He  commanded,  and  it  stood."  '  Nature 
exists  only  by  the  will  of  God ;  His  creative /a/  called  it  into 
existence,  and  it  ceases  to  be  as  soon  as  it  has  fullilled  His 
plan. 

2.  That  which  the  scientist  terms  nature  —  the  cosmic 
life  in  its  eternal  process  of  growth  and  reproduction  —  is 
declared  by  Judaism  to  be  God's  creation.  Ancient  hp.ithen 
conceptions  deified  nature,  indeed,  but  they  knew  jnly  a 
cosmogony,  that  is,  a  proce  ;s  of  birth  and  growth  of  the  world. 
In  this  the  gods  participate  with  all  other  beings,  to  sink 
back  again  at  the  close  of  the  drama  into  fiery  chaos,  —  the 
so-called  "twilight  of  the  gods."  Here  the  deity  constitutes 
a  part  of  the  world,  or  the  world  a  part  of  the  deity,  and 
philosophic  speculation  can  at  best  blend  the  two  into  a 
pantheistic  system  which  has  no  place  for  a  self-conscious, 
creative  mind  and  will.  In  fact,  the  universe  appears  as  an 
ever  growing  and  unfolding  deity,  and  the  deity  as  an  ever 
growing  and  unfolding  universe.  Modern  science  more 
properly  assumes  a  self-imposed  limitation:  it  searches  for 
the  laws  underlying  the  action  and  interaction  of  natural 
forces  and  elements,  thus  to  explain  in  a  mechanistic  way 
the  origin  and  development  of  all  things,  but  it  leaves  entirely 
outside  of  its  domain  the  whole  question  of  a  first  cause  and  a 
supreme  creative  mind.  It  certainly  can  pass  no  opinion  as  to 
whether  or  not  the -entire  work  of  creation  was  accomplished 
by  the  free  act  of  a  Creator.  Revelation  alone  can  speak  with 
unfaltering  accents:  "In  the  beginning  God  created  heaven 
and  earth."  However  we  may  understand,  or  imagine,  the 
beginning  of  the  natural  process,  the  formation  of  matter  and 
the  inception  of  motion,  we  see  above  the  confmes  of  space 

'  Ps.  XXXIII.  0. 


<; 


i 


p^> 


--f*"-' 


'*I 


148 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


i 


IP 

fr; 


and  time  the  everlasting  God,  the  absolutely  free  Creator  of 

all  things. 

1,.  No  definite  theological  dogma  can  dLiine  the  order  and 
process  of  the  genesis  of  the  world ;  this  is  rather  a  scientific 
than  a  religious  question.  The  Biblical  documents  themselves 
dilTer  widely  on  this  point,  whether  one  compares  the  stories 
in  the  first  two  chajjters  of  Genesis,  or  contrasts  both  of  them 
with  the  poetical  descriptions  in  Job  and  the  Psalms.*  And 
these  divergent  accounts  are  still  less  to  be  reconciled  with 
the  results  of  natural  science.  In  the  old  Babylonian  cos- 
mography, on  which  the  Biblical  view  is  based,  the  earth, 
shaped  like  a  disk,  was  suspended  over  the  waters  of  the  ocean, 
while  above  it  was  the  solid  vault  of  heaven  like  a  ceiling. 
In  this  the  stars  were  fixed  like  lamps  to  light  the  earth,  and 
hidden  chambers  to  store  up  the  rain.  The  sciences  of  as- 
tronomy, physics,  and  geology  have  abolished  these  child- 
like conceptions  as  well  as  the  story  of  a  si.x-day  creation, 
where  vegetation  sprang  horn  the  earth  even  before  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars  appeared  in  the  firmament. 

The  fact  is  that  the  Biblical  account  is  not  intended  to 
depreciate  or  supersede  the  facts  established  by  natural 
science,  but  solely  to  accentuate  those  religious  truths  which 
the  latter  disregards.^  These  may  be  summed  up  in  the 
following  three  doctrines: 

4.  First.  Nature,  with  all  its  immeasurable  power  and 
grandeur,  its  wondrous  beauty  and  harmony,  's  not  inde- 
pendent, but  is  the  work,  the  workshop,  and  the  working 
force  (jf  the  great  Master.  His  spirit  alone  is  the  active  power ; 
His  will  must  be  carried  out.  It  is  true  that  we  cannot  con- 
ceive the  universe  otherwise  than  as  infinite  in  time  and 
space,  because  both  time  and  space  are  but  human  modes 
of  apperception.    In  fact,  we  cannot  think  of  a  Creator  with- 

>  Job  XXXVIII ;   Ps.  CIV. 

=  Cuiiij).  .Mbu  I,  i;,  and  Sclileiinger'a  Notes,  625. 


THE  WORLD  AND  ITS  MASTER 


149 


r. 


out  a  creation,  because  any  potentiality  or  capacity  without 
execution  would  imply  imperfection  in  God.  Nevertheless 
we  must  conceive  of  God  as  the  designing  and  creating  in- 
tellect of  the  universe,  infmitely  transcending  its  complex 
mechanism,  whose  will  is  expressed  involuntarily  by  each 
of  the  created  beings.  He  alone  is  the  living  God ;  He  has 
lent  existence  and  infinite  capacity  to  the  beings  of  the  world  ; 
and  they,  in  achieving  their  appointed  purpose,  according 
to  the  poet's  metaphor,  "weave  His  living  garment."  The 
Psalmist  also  sings  in  the  same  key  : 

"Of  old  Thou  didst  lay  the  foundations  of  the  earth  ; 
And  the  heavens  arc  the  work  of  Thy  hands ; 
They  shall  perish,  but  Thou  shalt  endure ; 
Yea,  all  of  them  shall  wax  old  Iii<c  a  garment. 
As  a  vesture  shalt  Thou  chanRe  them,  and  they  shall  pass  away; 
But  Thou  art  the  self.s;une,  and  Thy  years  shall  have  no  end."  « 

5.  Second.  Thenumberless  beings  and  forcesof  the  universe 
-omprise  a  unity,  working  according  to  one  plan,  subserving 
a  common  purpose,  and  pursuing  in  their  development  and 
interaction  the  aim  which  God's  wisdom  a.ssigncd  them  from 
the  beginning.  However  hostile  the  various  elements  may 
be  toward  each  other,  however  fierce  the  universal  conflict, 
"the  struggle  for  existence,"  still  over  all  the  discord  prevails 
a  higher  concord,  and  the  struggle  of  nature's  forces  ends  in 
harmony  and  peace.  "  He  maketh  peace  in  His  high  places."  - 
Even  the  highest  type  of  heathenism,  the  Persian,  divided 
the  world  into  mutually  hostile  pnnci[)lcs,  light  and  darkness, 
good  and  evil.  But  Judaism  proclaims  God  as  the  Creator 
of  both.  No  force  is  left  out  of  the  universal  plan;  each 
contributes  its  part  to  the  whole.  Consequently  the  very 
progress  of  natural  science  confirms  more  and  more  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  divine  Unity.     The  researches  of  science  are  ever 


i 


Ps.  CII,  2S-2/. 


■  Job  XXV,  2. 


d' 


II 


i 


i't 


fii. 


150 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


tending  toward  the  knowledge  of  universal  laws  of  growth, 
culminating  in  a  scheme  of  universal  evolution.  Hence  this 
supports  and  confirms  Jewish  monotheism,  which  knows  no 
power  of  evil  antagonistic  to  God. 

6.  Third.  The  world  is  good,  since  goodness  is  its  creator 
and  its  final  aim.  True  enough,  nature,  bent  with  "tooth 
and  claw"  upon  annihilating  one  or  another  form  of  existence, 
is  quite  indifferent  to  man's  sense  of  compassion  and  justice. 
Yet  in  the  wise,  though  inscrutable  plan  of  God  she  does 
but  serve  the  good.  We  see  how  the  lower  forms  of  life  ever 
serve  the  higher,  how  the  mineral  provides  food  for  the  vege- 
table, while  the  animal  derives  its  food  from  the  vegetable 
world  and  from  lower  types  of  animals.  Thus  each  becomes 
a  means  of  vitality  for  a  higher  species.  So  by  the  continuous 
upward  striving  of  man  the  lower  passions,  with  their  evil 
tendencies,  work  more  and  more  toward  the  triumph  of  the 
good.     Man  unfolds  his  God-likeness ;  he  strives  to 

"  Move  upward,  working  out  the  beast, 
And  let  the  ape  and  tiger  die." 

7.  The  Biblical  story  of  Creation  expresses  the  perfect 
harmony  between  God's  purpose  anci  His  work  in  the  words, 
"And  behold,  it  was  good"  spoken  at  the  end  of  each  day's 
Creation,  and  "  behold,  it  was  very  good  "  at  the  completion  of 
the  whole.  A  world  created  by  God  must  serve  the  highest 
good,  while,  on  the  contrary,  a  world  without  God  would  prove 
to  be  "the  worst  of  all  possible  worlds,"  as  Schopenhauer,  the 
philosopher  of  pessimism,  quite  correctly  concludes  from  his 
premises.  The  world- view  of  Judaism,  which  regards  the 
entire  economy  of  life  as  the  realization  of  the  all-encompassing 
plan  of  an  all-wise  Creator,  is  accordingly  an  energizing  op- 
timism, or,  more  precisely,  meliorism.  This  view  is  voiced 
by  the  rabbis  in  many  significant  utterances,  such  as  the 
maxim  of  R.  Akiba,  "Whatsoever  the  Merciful  One  does, 


t7«»,'s:ej- 


THE  WORLD  AND  ITS  MASTER 


»5i 


is  for  the  good,"  '  or  that  of  his  teacher,  Nahum  of  Gimzo, 
"This,  too,  is  for  the  good." '  His  disciple,  R.  Meir,  inferred 
from  the  Biblical  verse,  "God  saw  all  that  He  had  made,  and 
behold,  it  was  very  gocxl."  that  "death,  too,  is  Rood."  '  Others 
considered  that  suffering  and  even  sin  are  included  in  this 
verse,  because  every  apparent  evil  is  nectssary  that  we  may 
struggle  and  overcome  it  for  the  final  victory  of  the  good* 
As  an  ancient  Midrash  says :  '  God  is  called  a  God  of  faith 
and  faithfulness,  because  it  was  His  faith  in  the  world  that 
caused  Him  to  bring  it  into  existence."  ' 

'  Ber.  60  b. 

*Cam  ZH  le  tobak,  an  allusion  to  his  own  name.    Taan.  Ji  b. 

» Gen.  R.  IX,  5.  ♦  Gen.  R.  IX,  g-io.  »  Sifrc  Deut.  307. 


1 


'1^  II 


.    i 


J' 


It 


CIMPTER  XXV 
Creation  as  the  Act  of  God 

I.  "Thus  shall  ye  say  unto  then*:  The  Rotls  that  have 
not  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  these  shall  perish  from 
the  earth,  and  from  under  the  heavens.  He  that  hath  made 
the  earth  by  His  power,  that  hath  established  the  world  by 
His  wisdom,  and  hath  stretched  out  the  heavens  by  His  under- 
standing .  .  .  the  Lord  God  is  the  true  God."  '  With  this  dec- 
laration of  war  against  heathenism,  the  prophet  drew  the  line, 
once  for  all,  between  the  uncreated,  transcendent  Got!  and 
the  created,  perishable  universe.  It  is  true  that  Plato  spoke 
of  primordial  and  eternal  matter  and  Aristotle  of  an  eternally 
rotating  celestial  sphere,  and  that  even  Biblical  exegetes, 
such  as  Ibn  Ezra,-  inferred  from  the  Creation  story  the  ex- 
istence of  primeval  chaotic  matter.  Yet,  on  the  whole,  the 
Jewish  idea  of  God  has  demanded  the  assumption  that  even 
this  primitive  matter  v.as  created  by  God,  or,  as  most  thinkers 
have  phrased  it,  that  God  created  the  world  out  of  nothing. 
This  doctrine  was  voiced  as  early  as  the  Maccabean  period 
in  the  ;.;jneal  made  by  the  heroic  mother  to  the  youngest 
of  her  seven  sons.'  In  the  same  spirit  R.  Gamaliel  II  scorn- 
fully rejects  the  suggestion  of  a  heretic  that  God  used  primeval 
substances  already  extant  in  creating  the  world.* 

'  Jer.  X,  1I-J2  and  to. 

»  See  his  commentary  to  Gen.  I,  i ;  comp.  Neumark,  I.  c  .  I,  70,  71,  80  f.,  87, 
412,  430,  S15;   Huaik,  1.  c,  p.  190;   D.  Strauss,  1.  c,  619-600. 

•II  Mate.  VII,  28. 

*  Gen   H    T,  t?;   X   3;   H.is.  it  b-i  j  a:  Slavonic  Enoch.  XXV;  see  J.  E., 
art.  Cosmogony  and  Creation;  Enc.  Rel.  and  Eth.,  151  ff.,  167  f. 

152 


CREATION   AS  THE   ACT  (Jl    GOD 


tS3 


2.  Of  cour  .«.  thinking  pe.»ple  will  evor  be  confronted  by 
the  problem  hu.v  a  transcendental  G^hI  ould  call  into  existence 
a  world  of  matter,  creating  it  within  the  limits  of  si)ace  and 
time,  without  Himself  becoming  involved  in  the  process.  It 
would  seem  that  He  must  by  the  very  ad  subject  Himself 
to  the  limitati.ms  and  mutations  of  the  universe.  Hence 
some  of  the  ancient  Jewish  teachers  came  under  the  influence 
of  Babylonian  and  Kgyptian  cosmogonies  in  their  later  Hel- 
lenistic forms,  and  resorted  to  the  theory  of  intermediary 
forces.  Some  of  these  adopte<l  the  Pythagorean  conception 
of  the  mysterious  power  of  letters  and  numbers,  which  they 
communicated  to  the  initiated  as  secret  lore,  with  the  result 
that  the  suspicion  of  heresy  rested  largely  ujwn  "those  who 
knew,"  the  so-called  Gnostics. 

The  difficulty  of  assuming  a  creation  at  a  fixed  period  of 
time  was  met  in  many  different  ways.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  R.  Abbahu  of  Caesarea  in  the  fourth  century  offered 
the  explanation:  "G(m1  caused  one  world  after  another  to 
enter  into  existence,  until  He  produced  the  one  of  which  He 
said:  'Behold,  this  is  good.'"'  Still  this  opinion  sctms  to 
have  been  e.xpressed  by  even  earlier  sages,  as  it  is  adopted  by 
Origen.  a  Church  father  of  the  third  century,  who  admitted 
his  great  debt  to  Jewish  teachers.^ 

The  medieval  Jewish  philosophers  evaded  the  difficulty 
by  the  Aristotelian  expedient  of  connecting  the  concept  of 
time  with  the  motion  of  the  spheres.  Thus  time  was  created 
with  the  celestial  world,  and  timelessncss  remained  an  attribute 
of  the  uncreated  God.'  Such  attempts  at  harmonization 
prove  the  one  point  of  importance  to  us.  —  which  indeed 
was  frankly  stated  by  Maimonides,  -  that  we  cannot  accept 
literally  the  Biblical  account  of  the  creation. 
3-   The  modern  world  has  been  lifted  bodily  out  of  the 

'  Crtn.  R.  IX.  I.  »  Sec  SJr.-.!!-;'!,  !  r    6.,r  f 

'Sec  SchmiedJ.  1.  c,  gi-uS;  Kaufmann,  I.  c,  280' f.,  306,^387  f. 


! 


n 

il 


I 


fi 


■4 

0 


«54 


JEWISH    r«K()L(XlY 


I 


,'  I 


J  :. 


Babylonian  and  so-called  Ptolemaic  world,  with  Its  narrow 
horizon,  through  the  labors  of  such  men  as  Ctpernicus,  Galileo, 
Newton,  Lyall,  and  Darwin.     We  I've  in  a  world  immeasurable 
in  terms  of  cither  space  or  tiitio,  a  world  where  evolution  works 
through  tH)ns  of  time  and  an  infinite  number  of  stages.    Su«  h 
u  world  givcs  rise  to  concepts  of  'he  working  of  Gt«l  in  nature 
totally  different  from  those  of  the  seers  and  sages  of  former 
generations,  ideas  of  which  thi»se  thinkers  could  not  even 
dream.    To  the  mind  of  the  m<Mlern  scientist  the  entire  cos- 
mic life,  extending  over  countless  millions  of  years,  forming 
starry  worlds  without  end.  Is  moved  by  energy  arising  within. 
It  is  a  continuous  flow  of  existence,  a  process  of  formation 
and  re-formation,  which  can  have  no  beginning  and  no  end. 
How  is  this  evolutionist  view  to  be  reconciled  with  the  brlicf 
in  a  divine  act  of  creation  ?    This  is  the  problem  which  modern 
iheology  has  set  itself,  perhaps  the  greatest  which  it  must  solve. 
Ultimately,  however,  the  problem  is  no  more  dilVicult  now 
than  It  was  to  the  first  man  who  pondered  over  the  beginnings 
of  life  In  the  chihUKHxl  of  the  wt)rl(l.     The  same  answer  fits 
both  mo<les  of  thought,  with  only  a  dilTercnt  i)rocess  of  reason- 
ing.    Whether  wc  count  the  world's  creation  by  days  or  by 
millions  of  years,  the  truth  of  the  first  verse  of  Genesis  remains : 
"In  the  beginning  G«h1  created  the  heavens  and  the  caith." 
In  our  theories  the  whole  complicated  world-process  is  but 
the  working  out  of  simple  laws.     This  leads  back  as  swiftly 
and  far  more  surely  than  did  the   primitive  cosmology  to 
an  omnij>otent  and  omniscient  creative  Power,  defining  at  the 
very  outset  the  aim  of  the  stupendous  whole,  and  carrying  its 
comprehensive  plan  into  reality,  step  by  step.     We  who  are 
the  products  of  time  cannot  help  applying  the  relation  of  thr.c 
to  the  work  of  the  Creator ;   time  is  so  interwoven  with  our 
being  that  a  modern  evolutionist,  Bergson,  considers  it  the 
fundamental  element  of  reality.     Thus  it  Is  natural  that  we 
should  think  of  God  as  setting  the  first  atoms  and  forces  of 


CREATION  AS  THK  ACT  OF  (iOI) 


'55 


the  universe  mlo  niotion  somi-whcre  and  -.onichow,  at  a  given 
momf!\t.       Ihn.uKh    this  act.  wc   imagine,   the  order   pre- 
vailinK  thrt)u«h  an  infmitu«le  .>f  >|»ate  ami  time  wu^  established 
for  the  snat  tahri.   of  life      To  earlier  thinkers  such  an  at  t 
of  a  suixrmundanv  and  immuial.!.-  (;<m|  a()fK-aretl  as  a  single 
act.     'I'he  idea  of  prime  im|xirtance  in  all  this  i^  the  free 
adiviiy   of   (he   Creator   In   contradistinction   to   the   blind 
neces>,ity  of  nature,  the  underlying  thet)ry  of  all  pagan  or  un- 
religious  philosophy.'    The  world  of  OckI,  which  is  the  world 
of  morality,  and  which  lead.>  to  man,  the  image  of  G«k1,  must 
be  l)ased    upon    the    free,   puriK)sive   creative    act   ol    God. 
Whether  .such  an  ;u  t  was  |Krformed  once  for  all  or  is  ever- 
lastingly renewed,  is  a  (juite  secondary  matter  for  religion, 
however  importanf   it   may  be   to  philosophy,  or  however 
fundamental    to    science.     In    our   daily    morning   prayers, 
which  refer  tc)  the  daily  aw,  keniiig  t..  a  life  .seemingly  new.' 
GcmI  is  proclaimed  as  "He  who  reneweth  daily  the  w'ork  of 
creation."  ' 

'  See  C.  Sflieman,  Jitdv.^/hum  und  Sfcdfrnr  WfltaHsrkauunt. 
*  The  first  benediction  before  the  Shema. 


( 

I 


;!1 

i  f 


1 

i 


■■■'J, 

f     ■ 

r 


[1 


I, 


I 


niAlTI.R   XXVI 

Tii»:  Maintknance  anu  Cit)VKRNMf;Nr  or  Tur.  Wokld 

1.  F''or  our  rrligious  ronscioiistu'ss  (he  doi  trine  of  divine 
maintenance  and  Kovernment  of  the  w.)rld  is  i;ir  inon  im- 
portant than  that  of  rreation.  It  oppt)st:s  tho  view  of  deism 
that  G<mI  withdrew  from  His  n  -at ion.  in<litTerent  to  th<' 
destiny  of  IUh  creatures.  He  is  rather  the  ever  present  Mind 
and  Will  in  all  the  events  of  life.  The  worhl  which  He  rreatid 
is  niaintaine«l  by  Him  in  its  continuous  activity,  the  object 
of  His  incessant  care. 

2.  Scripture  knows  nothing  of  natural  law,  but  prcsc.its 
the  changing  phenomena  of  nature  as  special  acts  of  Clod 
and  cimsiders  the  natural  forces  His  messenfi,'is  carrying 
out  His  will.  "He  opens  the  win«lt)ws  of  heav 'n  to  let  the 
rain  <lescend  ujKjn  the  earth"'  "He  leads  out  the  hosts 
of  the  stars  according  to  their  number  and  calleth  them  by 
name."  '  He  makes  the  sun  rise  and  set.  "He  says  to  fhe 
snow:  Fall  to  the  earth!"'  and  calls  to  the  wind  to  blow 
and  to  the  lightning  to  flash.*  He  causes  the  produce  of  the 
earth  and  the  drought  which  destroys  them.  "He  opens  the 
womb  to  make  beasts  and  men  bring  forth  their  young;" 
"He  shuts  u|)  the  womb  to  make  thim  barren."  *  "He  al.se 
provides  the  food  for  ull  His  creatures  in  due  season,  even 
for  the  young  ravens  when  they  cry."  •  His  breath  keeps  all 
alive.     "He  withdraweth  their  breath,  and  they  perish,  and 


T.cn.  VII,  ri;  Vlfl.  i. 

>  Job  XXXVI,  6. 

»(;cn.  XX.  17-18,   X.\X.  J2, 


'  Isa.  XL,  j6 

*  Job  XXXVIII,  IS- 

•  fs  CXLVIl,  8-0. 


iS6 


l.ti. 


Ul 


MAINIINANCK  AND  UIVEkNMKNT  Ol     iHfc  WORLD    is; 

return  to  their  du»t  lU-  M-mlcth  f(.rth  Hi,  •pirit.  they  arc 
(reatwi.  lie  r.-mwrth  the  t.uc  of  thi-  i-arth  '  '  VVi-  .•  re  told 
uls«>  that  Gml  u^mkiih  t(»  ia<  h  Uvinn  it-*  (urn  tn.tis.  t.  Iling  the 
earth  to  brinx  f«>rth  fruit,*  «hi-  sea  not  to  trivpans  i[>  f»oun.hiry,» 
the  starn  and  the  scan  to  mairilain  th.ir  onfir  ♦  To  each 
one  He  hath  m-I  a  tnoa^ure.  a  law  whicfi  they  dare  iioi  iranH- 
Kr<>H.     '    .d's  wisd»>m  work,  in  iheni  ,    they  all  are  subject 

to  r  * 

'  '  hcfoken>    afi    obvious    improvement 

reihildliki-  view  It  reio>j;ni/.eH  thai 
univer>e  and  all  un<ier  divine  MijHr- 
Npraks  of  a  tt)\«nant  of  tiixj  with 
I  .1  of  fhc  laws  which  fhey  niu^t  »)bey.* 
■  rinbow  is  n  presente<!  as  a  sij{n  of  the 
.1  1  nade  by  Ciod  with  the  whole  earth*  As 
I".'  <  in  the  heavens  above,'  '  He  establishes 
-iti  As  the  various  jjowers  .tf  nature  are  in- 
vcstcl  with  a  degree  of  i:.de|K'nden( e,  (;od'H  sovereignly 
manifests  itself  in  the  regularity  with  wiiich  they  interact 
un<l  CMipcrate  •  Thi-  lore  of  the  mysliis  >,pcak.  even  of  an 
oath  whiih  (ioil  administered  upon  His  holy  Name  to  the 
heavens  and  the  stars,  the  sea  and  the  aby>s.  that  they  shoul.l 
never  br-:.k  their  designated  l)o.inds  or  disturb  the  whole 
jrder  of  creation* 

4-  Further  progress  is  noted  in  the  liturgy,  in  such  expres- 
sions as  that  "(iod  renew,  th  daily  the  work  of  creation." 
or  "He  openeth  every  mor  ig  the  gate  .f  heaven  to  let  the 
sun  come  out  of  its  cham'',..s  in  all  its  splendor"  and  "at 
eventide  !i-  maketh  it  return  through  the  portals  of  the  west." 
Aguin,  "He  renewcth  His  creative  power  in  every  phenomenon 

•  Pi,  civ,  a7-jo  «  r.tn  I,  u.  '  r»  CIV  8 
«Gcn   VIII.  22;   Job  XXXVIII.  jj.              •  Jer.  XXXI.  jq;   XXXIII.  .;. 
•r.en.  IX,  i2f  'Job  XXV,  2 

•  See  Dilln.ann,  I.  c,  ^^5  f. .   f).  Sttauss,  I.  c.  ./jg-64,j 

^  Lnoii.  LXLX,  i^-i^,  Prayer  oi  ManassrJi.  3;  Suk.  sj  a  b;  Hag.  u  a. 


U' 

\h 

I 

.Ml'. 

o  u 
Go<l 
onler  11. 


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(I 


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of  nature  and  in  every  turn  of  the  season ;"  "He  provideth 
every  living  being  with  its  sustenance."  *  Indeed,  in  the  view 
of  Judaism  the  maintenance  of  the  entire  household  of  nature 
is  one  continuous  act  of  God  which  can  neither  be  interrupted 
nor  limited  in  time.  God  in  His  infinite  wisdom  works  for- 
ever through  the  same  laws  which  were  in  force  at  the  begin- 
ning, and  which  shall  continue  through  all  the  realm.^  of  time 

and  space. 

We  feeble  mortals,  of  course,  see  but  "the  hem  of  His  gar- 
ment" and  hear  only  "a  whisper  of  His  voice."  Still  from 
the  deeper  promptings  of  our  soul  wc  learn  that  science  does 
not  touch  the  inmost  essence  of  the  world  when  it  finds  a 
law  of  necessity  in  the  realm  of  nature.  The  universe  is 
maintained  and  governed  by  a  moral  order.  Moral  objects 
are  attained  by  the  forces  of  the  elements,  "the  messengers 
of  God  who  fulfilled  His  word."  '  Both  tv^e  hosts  of  heaven 
and  the  creatures  of  the  earth  do  His  bidding ;  their  every 
act,  great  or  small,  is  as  He  has  ordered.  Yet  of  them  all 
man  alone  is  made  in  God's  image,  and  can  work  self-con- 
sciously and  freely  for  a  moral  purpose.  Indeed,  as  the  rabbis 
express  it,  he  has  been  called  as  "the  co-worker  with  God 
in  the  work  of  creation." ' 

5.  The  conception  of  a  world-order  also  had  to  undergo 
a  long  development.  The  theory  of  pagan  antiquity,  echoed 
in  both  Biblical  and  post-Biblical  writings,  is  that  the  world 
is  definitely  limited,  with  both  a  beginning  and  an  end.  As 
heaven  and  earth  came  into  being,  so  they  will  wax  old  and 
shrink  like  a  garment,  while  sun.  moon,  and  stars  will  lo.se 
their  brightness  and  fall  back  into  the  primal  chaos."  The 
belief  in  a  cataclysmic  ending  of  the  workl  is  a  logical  corollary 
of  the  belief  in  the  birth  of  the  world.  In  striking  contrast, 
the  prophets  hold  forth  the  hope  of  a  future  regeneration  of 

»  Set  Singer's  Prayerbook,  37,  q6,  2qo.  20J.  '  Ps.  CHI,  20. 

•  Shab.  119  b.  ♦  Ts.  CII,  2; ;  Isa.  XX..IV,  4- 


MAINTENANCE  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  WORLD    159 

the  world.    Clod  will  create  "  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  " 
where  all  things  will  arise  in  new  strength  and  beauty.' 

This  hope,  as  all  esthatology.  was  primarily  related  to 
the   regeneration   of   the  Jewish   people.     Accordingly,    the 
rabbih  speak  of  two  worlds,'  this  world  and  the  world  to  come. 
They  consider  the  present  life  only  a  preliminary  of  the  world 
to  come,  in  which  the  divine  plan  of  creation  is  to  be  worked 
out  for  all  humanity  through  the  truths  emanating  from  Israel. 
This  whole  conception  rested  upon  a  science  now  superseded 
the  geocentric  view  of  the  universe,  which  made  the  earth 
and  e.  )ecially  man  the  final  object  of  creation.     For  us  only 
a  figurative  meaning  adheres  to  the  two  worlds  of  the  medieval 
beUef,  following  each  other  after  the  lai)se  of  a  llxed  period 
of  time.     On  the  one  hand,  we  see  one  infinite  fabric  of  life 
in  t.iis  visible  world  with  its  millions  of  suns  and  planets, 
among  v,-hich  car  earth  is  only  an  insignificant  speck  in  the 
sky.     With  our  limited  understanding  we  endeavor  to  pen- 
etrate moK  and  more  into  the  eternal  laws  of  this  illimitable 
cosmos.     ()n  the  other  hand,  we  hold  that  there  is  a  moral 
and  .spiritual  world  which  comprises  the  divine  ideals  and 
eternal  objects  of  life.     Both  are  reflected  in  the  mind  o(  man 
who  enters  into  the  one  by  his  intellect  and  into  the  other  by 
his  emotions  of  yearning  and  awe.     At  the  same  time  both 
are  the  manifestation  of  God.  the  Creator  and  Ruler  of  all. 
'Isa.  LXV,  17. 

'S«J.E.an.n;n..o'k..I,.v.di:ih.,art."i:s<hat..loRy-;  S.huerer.C.  V.I. 
•'i  S4S' 


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CHAPTER  XXVII 

Miracles  and  the  Cosmic  Order 

1.   "  Who  is  like  unto  Thco,  O  Lord,  among  the  mighty  ? 
Who  is  like  unto  Thee,  glorious  in  holiness, 
Fearful  in  praises,  doing  wonders !  "  ' 

Thus  sang  Israel  at  the  Red  Sea  in  words  which  arc  constantly 
reechoed  in  our    liturgy.     Nothing    impresses  the  religious 
sense  of  man  so  much  as  unusual  phenomena  in  nature,  which 
seem  to  interrupt  the  wonted  course  of  events  and  thus  to 
reveal  the  workings  of  a  higher  Power.     A  miracle  —  that 
is,   a   thing    "wondered'"    at,   because   not    undifstowl       is 
always   regarded   by   Scripture   as   a   "sign"-  or   "proof" 
of  the  power  of  (iod.  tt)  whom  nothing  is  impossible.    The 
child-like  mind  of  the  past  knew  nothing  of  fixed  or  immu- 
table  laws  of  nature.     Therefore  the  (luestion   is  PU^^i" J^" 
simplicitv:    "Is  anvthing   too  hard   for   the  Lord?"*     "Is 
the  Lord's  han<l  waxed  short  :■' "  ''     "Or  shouM  He  who  created 
heaven   and  earth   not   be   able  to  create  something   which 
never   was   before!'"  «     Should   "He   who   maketh   a   man's 
nioutli.  or  makes  him  deaf,  dumb,  seeing  or  blind."  '  not  be 
ahlr  al-o  lo  op.n  the  mouth  of  the  dumb  beast  or  the  eyes 
of   tlie  blind?     Should  not   He  who  killeth  and  giveth  life 
have  th.    power  alx.  to  .all  the  d.ad  back  to  life,  if  He  sees 
fit?     Should  not  He  who  openeth  the  womb  for  every  birth. 
be  able  to  ,,j.en  it  for  her  who  i<  ninety  years  .)ld?     Or  when  a 

,  ,.;,(   XV,  n  -  Olh.  sicn  for  mirLicle,  V.x.  IV.  S,  ,7.  and  elsewhere. 

'  .'ifoph.th.  Ia   \II.  ^,  and  eisowhore.  '  <'en.  XVTII,  14. 

»  Num.  XI.  -  i.  '  K'c.  XXXn-,  . : ;   Sum.  XVI,  jo.  ^  Kx.  IV,  11. 


1  i 


MIRACLES  AND  THE  COSMIC  ORDER 


j6i 


whole  land  Is  wicked,  to.shnt  the  wombs  of  all  its  inhabit::nt3 
that  they  may  remain  barren?  Again,  should  not  He  who 
makes  the  sun  come  forth  every  morning  from  the  gates  of 
the  East  and  enter  each  night  the  portals  of  the  West,  not 
be  able  to  change  this  order  once,  and  cause  it  to  stand  still  in 
the  midst  of  its  course  ?  ' 

So  long  as  natural  phenomena  are  considered  to  !)e  sep- 
arate acts  of  the  divine  will,  an  unusual  event  is  merely  an 
extraordinary  manifestation  of  this  same  j)ower,  "the  linger 
of  God."  The  i)eople  of  Biblical  limes  never  ciueslioned 
whether  a  miracle  happened  or  could  hai)|)en.  Iheir  concern 
was  to  see  it  as  the  work  of  the  arm  of  (iod  either  for  His 
faithful  ones  or  against  His  adversaries. 

2.  With  the  advance  of  thought,  miracles  began  to  be 
regarded  as  interruptions  of  an  established  order  of  creation. 
The  question  then  arose,  why  the  all-knowing  Creator  should 
allow  deviations  from  His  own  laws.  As  the  future  was 
present  to  Hiin  at  the  outset,  wh\'  did  He  not  make  provision 
in  advance  for  such  special  ca.ses  as  He  foresaw?  Ttiis  was 
exactly  the  remedy  which  the  rabbis  furnished.  Thev  de- 
clared that  at  Creation  God  provided  for  certain  extraor- 
dinary events,  so  that  a  latent  force,  established  for  the  pur- 
pose at  the  beginning  of  the  world,  is  responsible  for  incidents 
which  appeared  at  the  time  to  be  true  interferences  with  the 
world  order.  Thus  God  had  nnuie  a  special  co\enant,  as  it 
were,  with  the  work  of  creation  that  at  the  appointed  time 
the  Red  Sea  should  divide  before  Israel ;  that  sun  and  moon 
should  stand  still  at  the  bidding  of  Joshua  ;  that  hre  should 
not  consume  the  three  youths.  Hananel.  Mi.>hael,  and  Azd- 
riah;  that  the  sea-monster  .should  si)it  forth  Jonah  alive; 
together    with    other    so-called    miracles.^     The    same    idea 

'Josh.X,  w~i4.     Sci' J,)d:    'I).  Mosaismusu.  d.  Wund.T,"  in  Jb.  (1.  Juid. 
Gesth.  u.  Lit.,  i(jo4,  p.  ()f>-ij4. 

=  Mek.  HeshalJah  .};  Ck-n.  K.  V,  4. 
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occasioned  the  other  HajiKadic  saying  that  shortly  before 
the  completion  of  the  creation  on  the  evening  of  the  sixth  day 
God  placed  certain  miraculous  forces  in  nature.  Through 
them  the  earth  opened  to  swallow  Korah  and  his  band,  the 
rock  in  the  wilderness  gave  water  for  the  thirsty  multitude, 
and  Balaam's  ass  spoke  like  a  human  being;  through  them 
also  the  rainbow  api)eared  after  the  flood,  the  manna  rained 
from  heaven,  Aaron's  rod  burst  forth  with  almond  Ijlossoms 
and  fruit,  and  other  wt)ndrous  events  happened  in  their 
proper  time.' 

3.  Neither  the  rabbis  nor  the  medieval  Jewish  thinkers 
e.xpressed  any  doubt  of  the  <  rcdil)ility  of  the  Hiblical  miracles. 
The  latter,  indeed,  rationalized  miracles  as  well  as  other  things, 
and  considered  Si)me  of  them  imaginary.  Saadia  accepts  all 
the  Biblical  miracles  except  the  >peaking  sequnt  in  Paradise 
and  the  speaking  ass  of  Balaam,  considering  these  to  be 
parables  rather  than  actual  occurrences.-'  In  general,  both 
Jewish  and  Mohanunedan  theologians  assumed  that  si)ccial 
forces  hidden  in  nature  were  utilized  by  the  proi)hets  and 
saints  to  testify  to  their  divine  mission.  These  powers  were 
attained  by  their  lofty  intellects,  which  lifted  them  up  to 
tlie  sphere  of  the  Supreme  Intellect.  All  medieval  attempts 
to  solve  the  problem  of  miracles  were  based  upon  this  curious 
combination  of  Aristotelian  cosmology  and  Mohammedan 
or  Jewish  theology.^  True.  Maimonides  rejects  a  number 
of  miracles  as  contrary  to  natural  law,  and  refers  to  the 
rabbinical  saying  that  some  of  the  miraculous  events  narrated 
in  Scrii)ture  were  so  only  in  appearance.     Still  he  claims  for 

'  Ahoth  V,  6;  comp.  .\l).  .1.  R.  N.,  i<\.  Srhci titer,  05;  Mi'k.  IlcslKillah,  5; 
Sifre  Dflarim,  .r,y,  'Vs.  -.4  ,1;  I'.  <l.  K.  Ill  ,  MX;  nir^,  V.  to  .Num.  XXII, 
jH,  whiTc  a  (lilTirinl  list  oi  ten  womlrous  things  is  ^ivi-n. 

-  imunolh  wc  \)c.,lh  II.  44.  b^-  Com\}.  Tin  Kzra  to  Ocn.  III.  i,  ami  Num. 
XXII,  2H. 

*.\Iorfh,U,2-„iS,i7.  111,24;  IVW. /m /".yrj/,,VII,7;  VIII,  1-3.  Conip. 
Joel:   Mosti  Maimonides,  p.  77. 


MIRACLES  ANU  THP  COSMIC  ORDER 


»63 


MOBes,  A8  the  Mohammedans  did  Un  Mohanutted,  miraculous 
power*  derived  frum  lite   ^pwire  of  the  Supreme  Intellect. 
Uia  lengtJiy  chapter  vn  aniru<  l<^  Albo  follows  Maimonidfs,' 
while  his  toachw  Cce$ca^  cuiifti<U;r^  the  Biblical  mirafllcg  to, 
be  direcA  mani/eatations  of  the  croiitive  activity  of  God.' 
Gerwnides  h|is  joaily  two  opinions;   is  his  commentary  he 
reduecH  all  miracle*  to  natural  prooes!»es,  but  in  hi*  philo- 
sophioaJ  work  be  adoptj*  the  view  U  M^im'mkki.^    J«fcuda 
ha  Levi  alone  insisted  on  the  miradus  ot  cli*  i^l>..  a$  historic 
evldencQ.of  the  divine  calJinR  of  the  piup^iei   *    To  all  the 
rost,itheim»raoloi$.o«)tipw:formtd  by  God  l>ul  hy  lAe  divinely 
endowed  man.     (}od  himseli  i.s  no  longer  concfive<l  <j£  as  chang- 
ing th«!cosiiniaord«r.    Both  He  and  the  world  creatoil  hfy  His 
wiU.  r«raain'ev«5r  the  same.    iSliil,  according  to  this  theory, 
certain  privileged  men  are  endowed  with  speda.!  powers  by 
the  Su|jrume  Intellect,  and  by  these  Lhey  can  perforjoa  mirai  les. 
4.  It  is  evident  that  in  all  this  the  problem  oi  miracles  i& 
not  solved,  nor  oven  correctly  stated.     Both  rabbinical  liter- 
ature and  the  Bible  alwund  with  miracles  about  certain  holy 
places  and  holy  persons,  which  they  never  venture  to  doubt. 
But  the  rabbis  -were  not  miracle-workers  like  the  Kssenes  and 
their  Christian  successors.*    On  the  contrary,  they  spu^ht  to 
rbprWs.  the  popular  credulity  and  hunger  for  the  miraculous, 
saying ;"  The  parescnt  generation  is  not  worthy  to  have  mir- 

\lkkannf,  I,  i8. 

*0t  Adonai,  III,  5;  romp   JopI  :   Am  Cfia^Jai  Crescat,  p,  70. 

*MHhimoth  Adanal,  Iim  chapters;  corajk  J.  E.,  art.  Levi  ben  Cjerihom. 

*  Cnzari,  \i,  54, 

'Thv  Aiuhr  wuJif//,  mcnliotjcd  toRtthgr  ,with  the  llasidim  in  Suk.  V,  4, 
and  S<jt.  IX,  15,  are  wonderworkers,  of  whom  Maninah  hen  Oosa,  the  last'  iV 
siftftlod  out.  The  same  ephhet  was  (fivtfn  t6  itimcoii  ben  Vochai  in  .Aramaic, 
A*(Mi  VM  Usw.  kabba'  K-XIIi  2,  and  to  R.  Assi,  owU.  XIX,  J,  -  vhorc  it 
means,  worker  in  nature's  realm.  Thus  N'ahum  ..f  (iinuo  is  called  "irjined 
in  tho^skill  to  perform  iniracIe,s"  —  Taan.  n  a;  Phinehas  ben  jiiir  was  also  a 
wontkrworkcr  «^  IIul.  7  a^  The  whole  iwrtio^n  reaarUing  rain-ipiracles  sjcoms 
to  be  tak^n  fanji/a  mgyrfc,  on  tli«  miracles  of  saints.  •  i  •    ■ 


I 


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JEWISH  TIIKOLOC.Y 


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atles  performed  for  them,  like  the  former  ones;"  '  or  "The 
providing  of  each  living  soul  with  its  daily  food,  or  the  recovery 
of  men  from  a  severe  disease  is  as  great  a  miracle  as  any  of 
those  told  in  Scri|)ture;"  *  or  again.  "Of  how  small  account 
is  a  person  for  whom  the  cosmic  order  must  be  disturbed ! "  • 
Thus  when  the  wise  men  of  Rome  asked  the  Jewish  sages: 
"If  your  God  is  omnipotent,  as  you  claim,  why  does  He  not 
banish  from  the  world  the  idols,  which  are  so  loathsome  to 
Him?"  they  replied:  "Do  you  really  desire  (iod  to  destroy 
the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  because  fools  worship  them?  The 
world  continues  its  regular  course,  and  idolaters  will  not  go 
unpunished."  * 

5.  In  Judaism  neither  Biblical  nor  rabbinical  miracles  are 
to  Ix-  accepted  as  proof  of  a  doctrinal  or  practical  teaching.* 
The  Deuteronomic  law  expressly  states  that  false  prophets 
can  perform  miracles  by  which  they  mislead  the  multitude.' 
We  can  therefore  ascribe  no  intrinsic  religious  importance  to 
miracles.  The  fact  is  that  miracles  occur  only  among  people 
who  arc  ignorant  of  natural  law  and  thus  predisposed  to  accept 
marvels.  They  are  the  products  ot  human  imagination  and 
credulity.  They  have  only  a  subjettive,  not  an  objective 
value.     They  are  psycht)l()gical,  not  phy>iral  facts. 

The  attitude  of  Maimoiiidcs  and  Albo  toward  Biblical 
miracles  is  especially  significant.'  The  former  detiares  in 
his  great  Code :  ^  "  lsraer>  heliel  in  Moses  and  his  law  did 
not  rest  on  miracles,  for  mirai  le>  rather  create  doubt  in  the 
mind  of  the  believer.  Faith  mu■^t  rest  on  its  intrinsic  truth, 
and  this  can  never  be  subverted  by  mirai  les.  which  may  be 
of  a  deceitful  nature  "  Albo  devoli  -  a  lengthy  chapter  to 
de\elopitig  this  idea  still  further,  undoubtrdlv  lel'erring  to 
the  Church;   he  speak-  of  miracles  wrought  by  both  Bibli.  al 

'  Taan.  iH  I..  ■'  (Vs    ii^   !  ,    NVd    41  a.  '  Shut).  53  h. 

<  .Ab.  Za.  IV,  7  ;  romi).  Bcr.  4  J,  ^o  a ;  S.mh   07  b.  »  B.  M    ?q  b, 

•Ueut   XIIl,  2  (>.  '  i  esodc  ha  Torah,  V'lII,  1-5. 


!.^i.*./'in 


MIRACLES  AND  THE  COSMIC  ORDKR 


'6S 


and  Talmudic  heroes,  such  as  Onius  the  rain  maker.  Niiode- 
mus  ben  Gorion,  Hanina  ben  Dosa,  and  I'hinchas  ben  Jair, 
the  ix)pular  !*aints.'  In  mtxlern  times  Mcndels!k)hn,  when 
challenged  by  the  Lutheran  pastor  Luvater  cither  to  accept 
the  Christian  faith  or  refute  it.  attacked  especially  the  basic 
Christian  faith  in  miracles.  He  stated  boldly  that  "miracles 
prove  nothing,  since  every  religion  bases  its  claims  on  them 
and  consefiuently  the  truth  of  one  would  disprove  the  con- 
vincing prtHjf  of  the  other."  ' 

6.  Our  entire  mtKlern  mmle  of  thinking  demands  the 
complete  recognition  of  the  empire  of  law  throughout  the 
universe,  manifesting  tht-  all  permeating  will  of  God.  The 
whole  cosmic  order  is  one  mirac  le.  No  rtwrn  is  left  for  single 
or  exceptional  mirades.  Only  a  primitive  age  could  think 
of  God  as  alttring  thr  order  of  nature  whii  h  He  had  li.xed, 
so  as  to  let  iron  float  on  water  like  wo<hI  to  please  oni-  petMin 
here.'  or  to  stop  sun,  star,  or  sia  in  their  cour>es  in  urdir  to 
help  or  hami  mankind  tlun.*  It  i-  more  im|M)ilant  fur  us 
to  inquire  into  the  law  of  the  mind  by  wliii  h  the  fact  itself  may 
differ  from  the  peculiar  form  given  it  by  a  narrate  r.  With 
our  histori(  al  mcthiMis  unknown  to  former  ag«'s,  we  lannot 
accept  any  story  of  .i  mirat  U-  without  s(fkin<^'  its  intrinsic 
historical  accuracy.  Afli  i  ail.  the  niira<  !.■  as  narrated  is 
but  a  human  conce[)tion  of  what,  under  (ind's  guid.ince, 
really   li.ip|K-ned. 

Acroniiiigly,  we  must  leave  the  Imal  interpretation  of  the 
Fiibiiial  narrativi'  to  the  individual,  to  consider  them  as 
historical  iaets  or  as  rigiirati\c  pres»'ntations  of  religious 
ideas.  Kven  now  sonic  [H'nple  will  pr«'fer  to  believe  tliat  the 
Ten  (\)nimaiidnierit^  emanated  frcni  (i(»d  Himself  in  audible 
tones,  as  medieval  lliinkers  maintained.^  Some  will  a(lo[>' 
the  old  semi  r.ii:  .nali-^tie  ex[)l;uiali<in  that  He  created  ;i  voivi. 

*  Ikkarim,  I    i.S  »  .Mcmlils-jjin  :   (i.  SlIi.,  Ill,  ',:,  i    ,  f  ,   jjo  {. 

•  II  Kings  VI,  <)  *  Joshua  X,  i  5.  '■■  March,  II,  ;j 


11 


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ftyk*  thfs  «p<!HilI  purpose  Olhm  MrlH  hoid  ft  «fc«r«'wbithy 
Of  tdd  to  c6ittmunlt'<rte  diMdy  wrtfh' tfcfenv  Ifoirt  nH*"'*  '*» 
iiplfft,  Withotit'  thf'  tis«  «f  Acrt*#y  tneaAs ;  t»*t«f  w<l|it4|wf«ii^ 
tJflte?  the  BiWkal  derw-ripUon  ft*  ftj^wWll^-  -i^  ¥ei!^^\\i»\.  fci 
fArt-.' he  Wh<i  doH  n(»t  c\\r\%  to  the'Wttti*  of'Jht*  S^PfrtuK^  will 
pwbahly  rcgAKl  all  the  mir;irl«^s  a*  |»i>et<cal  vfew<«  «vf  divJh* 
PrrtvH(lence.  a«  <^ild-like  ltntij?erjr'  ^jqurew^lnj?  «H^  fti>d*nt 
Vit?W  dt  the  <^t«4h;i?  i!«WKlriHs  rtn*r<"Wls(VMi  f)f  0*wt.  T«J  UH 
also  (io<l  is"a  Doer  t)f  wonders,"  hut  Wiexp<¥ii%i>  Ifls.  wnwdH^ 
wHrkln^'pothT*  fti  rtUfsdv«s'.'  We^rtl  w6ndt^' in  rhb  otts 
o^  hUrtisiW  freedorti  tvhith  rti<^  si»fH*ri*if  to  th^  lilitid  f<)rrt^  of 
nature.  '  Thf  true*  mirade  i*oW*lsW  in  th<>  d<vlri«"prtwef  within 
mwtwWbh  aidjl  hitti  t(VdcconipKV4h  all  that'is  Rroat  and  go«d. 


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CHAPlERi  XXVIII       ,   : 
I>9XiDi^N9j;  ANjft  Ti|«,>4oRAt jPvvfk^miuvt  Of  Tjip  WoUtU). 

t'.  ^one  of  thf  [SVerfou*  truth!*  of 'Judaism  has  boromc  more 
it^*'ip^n*ahlt  tli.th  the  hdipf'lh'fftvfnc'ProvfHMn^*^!  which' W 
krt?  about  us  'in  cvtT  nc<v  At\^  «tfikfnjlf  -  Smi<f.  MaH  v*r,uld 
sliK^mih  f^hVfcdr  alone,  bi'h'oMlhj?'the'dii'riK'cr>'ab;Jat  him  on 
every  side,  were  he  not  sustaine<l  by  a  conviction  that  there 
is  an  aH-vme  Power  who  rules  the  worhl  for  a  sublime  purpose. 
Wd  know'^htrt  cvcm  5n  direst  dinresk  \^'e'  tirt  ga^ffeH  "by  a  di- 
v-fne  hand  t^at' direrts' eMCrythinjj  fifnAlIt  toward  the  good. 
Where\ier'#e  ari-',  we  ate  ptotccterf  by  God',  who  watches  ovtf 
ihir  de^tiAie^  bf  man  as  ''does  the  eajjie  who  hovers  over  her 
young' ahd' heats  tfiiem  alo^t  on  her  pinions.*'  p:ach  of  us  k 
assigned  )\\i  place  hi  the  an-(^neonipasslnK  plan.  ^t«<*h  Icnowl'- 
edge  knd  kuc^  faith  a!5  thif^  'comprise  the  greatest  Comfort  and 
Joy'WhlA  the'JHdsh  religion 'offers.  Both  the  narratives  ahd 
the  dWrkndi  of  StTipture  ai-e  filled  with  this  idea  bf  PAjvl- 
denceworkint  in  th'e'historryijf  individuals  aMHatfon-S-* 

2.  PW)vidb}ice  {niplles  t\r^i,^fo?isidnl  ahcf  sebbrid'.  predeiti- 
nalidn  \t\  atcordante  with  the  divine  Jilah  for  fhV  ^(Svernmertt 
of  th(^  world.  As  Qou's  dominion  ovet'  the'iisiTSle  world  ap- 
pears in  'the  eterna!  orddr  oif'  the  cosAios,  so'i'ti  thb  moral 

world,  where  aKtion  ariHes  from  freely  chosen  aims.  God  is 

■         ■  ,  t  '  ' 

'  The  Hebrew  tirm  Hashgaltj  -  Providence  —  is  .krivcil  from  Ps.  XXXIH, 
14,  hishtiah,  "He  ohserves."  See  J.  F...  art.  Providence;  Davidson,  I.  c  ,  178- 
18a,  Hambu'Rer,  K.  \V.  H.  U,  art.  Bestimmuoi;,  RauwinJxfrfT,  I./..  .v|3  f . ; 
Ludwig  Philippson  •'/ifot/. /£»/(|»i;»ij7.,'  11,0  1.,  Foimsl^dvsr ;  ■'R^igku§ 
des  CeisUs,"  H4-iii). 

167 


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jtWISfl  THEOLOGY 


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Ruler  of  a  mor.il  governmttii  Thus  He  direct*  all  the  acts 
of  men  toward  the  end  which  He  has  net.  JudaUm  i*  most 
tthar^ily  iDntrantetl  with  ht  ithenism  at  thi-i  |>«»int  Heathen- 
ism either  deitteA  naturr  or  mergeri  the  «leity  into  nature. 
Thus  there  is  no  pLui-  for  a  (io<l  who  know?*  all  thingn  ami 
[)rovi«l«'s  for  all  in  .ulvante.  Blind  fate  rulen  all  the  fones  »»f 
life,  incluiling  the  ileitic^  themnelveH.  Therefore  chance  in- 
tidents  in  nature  i>r  the  |»«)sitinns  of  the  stars  are  taken  as 
imlitalions  of  di-stiny.  llcni .  the  brlief  in  oracU-s  and  divi- 
natitm  in  the  ohserv.ttitui  of  llyin^  arrows  and  rto.iting  clouds, 
of  the  c«)lor  and  >ha|>e  «»f  the  liver  of  sacrificial  animals,  ami 
other  si)?ns  of  heaven  and  earth  which  were  to  hint  at  the 
future  ' 

()t\  the  other  hami,  Judaism  stt-s  in  all  things,  not  the  for- 
tuitous (I  alings  of  a  blind  and  relent los  fate,  but  the  «lis|x"n- 
salions  of  a  wise  and  benij?n  Providence.  It  knows  of  no 
event  which  is  not  foreordained  by  ("hkI.  It  sanctii»ncd  the 
decision  by  lot '  and  the  appeal  to  the  oracle  (the  Urim  and 
Thununim^ '  «»nly  temix»r.irily,  <lurini?  the  Biblical  ptrit)d 
But  soon  it  rc(onni/.«'d  entirely  tlie  will  of  (lotl  ;is  the  KuKr 
of  destiny,  an<l  the  people  accepte<l  the  belief  that  "  the  day-," 
"the  destinio,"  anil  even  "the  tears"  of  man  are  all  written 
in  His  "  b<M»k."  '  Thus  they  [HTceived  GikI  as  "  He  who  knows 
from  the  beginning  what  will  be  at  the  end."  '•  The  propli- 1-. 
His  mesMcngers,  coul  1  thus  foretell  Hi^  will.  They  perteive 
Him  as  the  One  who  "created  the  stnifh  that  brouj^ht  forth 
the  we;iiM)n  for  its  work,  and  created  the  master  who  um-.  it 
for  destruction.""     However  the  foe  may   rage,    he   is   but 

'  Jtr.  X,  J.     Sep  art.  Divination,  in  J,  r.. ;   iJiit.  Bible;   Knr    K  ami  I'.lh. 

'Set-  l.iv  XVI.  Hi  .\um  XXVI,  5''.  J'>sh  XVIII-XIX.  I'rov. 
XVIII,  18, 

»i:x.  XVIII.  JO     ISaR    s,.c  lAX,   XIV,  4' 

«Kx.  XXXIII,  j2;  !■  I.VI,  .,,  ("XXXIX,  16,  ump ,  however,  the 
B4byloni.in  "tablt"'  "f  lies' inio^" 

» Isa.  XL,  21 ;  XLl.  4,  2:  :.,  .\mo»  III,  7.  •  l».i   LIV,  lO. 


il/ 


TMK   MORAI    (.OVF.KNMKNT  OF  TIIF  WOkl.D       169 


"the  Mourgi-  in  the  hand  <»(  (;«kI,"  lik«-  "thr  axe  In  the 
ham!  of  him  wh«»  MU  ihf  irc*f  "  '  No  iliviie  of  men  or 
nations  ran  withstaml  His  will,  fur  IK-  turns  all  thiir  doings 
ti»  »umc  goxl  purj>.;Hc  and  fran4t)rni  every  lurse  into  a 
hleisinK^ 

V  Naturally  this  truth  was  firnt  aurpt***!  in  limited  form, 
in  the  life  of  «rrtuin  individuals.  The  hi-^tory  of  Jovph  ami 
of  Kinj^  David  were  u-ed  a-  illusfralions  to  show  how  (lo<l 
pr(tte<ts  His  own  The  «x|Hrienies  oi  the  |MopU-  runfirmni 
this  lnjirf  and  expanded  it  to  apply  tt)  the  natiorj  The 
wanclerinns  of  Israel  IhrouKi  the  wildern»-ss  atul  its  cntrame 
to  the  |>romtMd  land  w«'re  re).^lrdt•d  a-.  OikI's  work  for  His 
chosen  people.  I  he  prophets  looked  still  further  and  saw 
the  «lestiriies  of  all  nations,  enterin-,'  the  forej.;roun«l  of  history 
one  by  one,  as  the  sii^n  ol  di\ine  I'roviderue,  so  that  tinally 
th'-  entire  history  of  rnankin<l  lie< Mine  a  ^rcil  plan  of  divine 
salvation,  centered  ujmim  the  iriuh  iiilrusi.d  to  Israel. 

Hi  side  this  conteption  ol  i^cncral  Provideni  e  rulin>;  in  his- 
tory, the  idea  uf  spnial  I*roviden«e  ar«>se  in  n-sponse  to  human 
lonj^ing.  The  IK-Iief  in  I'rovidmn-  developed  to  a  full  ( on- 
ceplion  of  tare  for  the  world  at  lar|i;e  and  for  eai  h  individual 
in  his  jK'Culiar  destiny,  a  conviction  that  divine  F'rovidenie 
is  concern<-d  with  the  welfare  of  eat  h  iudiviilual.  ami  that  the 
joyous  or  hitter  lot  of  cat  h  man  forms  a  link  in  the  moral 
Rovernment  of  the  world  The  tirst  dear  statemeiU  of  this 
comes  from  the  prophet  Jeremiah  in  his  wresllinj^  and  .-^iKhinK  : 
'  I  know,  ()  Lord,  that  the  way  of  man  is  nt)l  in  himself,  it  is 
not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direi  t  his  >ieps."  '  S|H'cial  Provi- 
dence is  discusM-d  still  more  vividly  and  detinitely  in  the  lutok 
of  Job.  Later  on  it  becomes  a  sp,i  iiii  Pharisaic  doctrine, 
"Kverything  is  foreseen."  '  "  No  man  sutTers  so  mu(  h  as  the 
injury  of  a  tinj;er  unless  it  has  been  dti  reed  in  heaven  "  ^     A 

•Isa.  X,  5.  15-  Msa   Vlfl,  II,   I'.   II,  i  f  ,   Deut.  XXIII   '. 

•JcrX.  3i-  'Alwlhlll,  15.  MIul.  7A. 


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'  'T^-.'i    TiTT  JE^^ISH"' THEOLOGY  "  ="'''"    ^'n 


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4W»iW!  preordinatioA  decides,  an.  an  ;»,chQweK^  hjsiwik  ^And 
^V^»fyN9tbcrij?%pcj-um  step  of  h-i  life.,:  .1   ,„i  .   ,,.,(   :>  i.a  ,1 

4,,  iTUi^thpory  of  predestination,  hQvrewer,,pr«sfntB  a  grave 
di^cmlty  when  wc  consider  it  in  lelatioi},^  maa>  nwralUy 
with  its  implication  of  self-determination.  While  this  quest- 
tipn  jof,  free  will  Is  treated  fully  in  anothen  qonnwtiom,*  we 
may, anticipate  the  thought  at  this  point.  The,  Jewish  conr 
f4f]S\iqp,oi  divine  predestination  wakes,  as  nwif  b  /^Upwajjqe  &s 
possi^  for  th(j, moral  freedom  of  man-  TUis  i8|ph9wflL  ii^ 
T^imudic  sayings?,  such  as  "  Evierythiqg  ,is.  wiihin  the  powei;  pjf 
Qpfi  fflfcppt,  tjhe  fear  of  God,". ^, or  "Repanta^ca,, prayer,,?^ 
ctwrity,  avert  th?.  qvil  decree."  ■•  Thus  Maimonjdes  expressly 
^^te^  in  h^sCpdei that  the  belief  in  predestination  cannot  be 
^>vfi<^  ,tf>\  influence  one's  moral  or  religious i  char a*:ter,  A 
n^W I fiaiji  decide  by  his  own  volition  whether, he  shsdl  l>ecowe 
a.?:  mt  ^5  ^Moses  or  as  wicked  as  Jeroboam.  ^  , , .  i  , ,  i   , , :  i  ^  ,   , ,  1 1 

5.  The  service  of  the  New  Year  bring?  out,.*igni6<;anUy 
th^;  Jewish  harmonization  between  the  ideas  of  .God'?  fflre- 
l^npwledge  and  man's  moral  freedom.  This  festival,  in  .^hf 
^jble  called  the  Festival  of  the  Blowing  of  the  3hofar,  yr^ 
U^MIsformed  under  Babylonian  influence  into  the  P,^.  of 
Divine  Judgment.  But  it  is  still  in  maAed  contrast  tp.it  j^ 
Babylonian  New  Year's  Day,  when  the  gods  were  supposed 
^ogo.to  the  House  of  the  Tablets  of  Destiny  in  ^h^.d^^t*? 
heaf  iJtie  decisions  of  fate."  The  Jewish  sages  taught  th^t  on 
this  day  God,  the  Judge  of  tht  /orld,  pronoujoce?  the  d?stinie^ 
of  ipen  and  ^tions  according  to  their  desprts.|  (They,  thps 
repMqpd  , the  heathen  jdea  of  blind;  fate  by  th»t ,  pf ,  Ptfirn^l 
justice ^s J:he  forqi^tiive  power,  of  li^.n.  Then,, W?!ved  hx  ,ft 
d^ir?  tp,  n>itigatp|theTigor  pf  s,tern  jusfjcft.for.tb^  fr^iJ,|ai>d 
failing  .mprtaj,  they  included  also  God's  .lo*gTsufieriug,  ^d 

^   •Gen.XXrv-^oi'k'K.  i8'b.  '  '  '    »(i:h''XxM  '•-•""» 6ek'3i«;i^" 
^R.HSh/irbr'NfiwYdar's  liturgy.  i       » //.  r«A«4oA,  V,  i-i. 

•  Sec,  on  tbeaagmuk  festival,  Zimmdm,  K.  A.'  T.,  p.  514  f.      i  .  /      .| 


»ll-S>.<«B^W«*>«'.  WP'-     .  •>  «V  MF^**!**! 


THE  MORAL  'GOVETlNilfifft't*  THE  WORLD      17* 

ht«rcy;  'These  &ttffbutes  Are  Ihus'supposet}  to  intercede,  so 
t!hAt  the  final  decWon  Is  left  In  smpehse  ilnHJ  the  Da^ 'of 
Atonttment ,  the  great  day  of  pardon.  Somt?i  T&hhaitic 
teachers  '  find  it  more  in  accord  with  their  view  of  God 
tb' say  that  Hu  Judges   man   every   day;   an<f  even' every 

hOUT.' 

Of  course,  the  philosophic  mind  can  take  this  whole  view- 
|)oint  in  a  figurative  sense  atone.  All  the  more  muat  We'rec*- 
ognize  that  this  subJfme  religious  thought  of  God  Hbc^tes 
morality  from  the  various  limitations  of  the  ancient  pa^an 
conception  of  Deity  ind  the  more  recent  metaphyseal  vlemr. 
In  place  of  these  it  asserts  that  there  is  a  moral  ^overrimeAt 
df  the  world,  which  must  be  imitated  in  the  moral  and  rfeligioub 
consciousness  of  the  individual. 

6.  The  belief  in  a  moral  government  of  the  world  ansWers 
another  question  which  the  medieval  Jewish  philosophers 
and  their  Mohammedan  predecessors^  endeavored  t© 'solve, 
but  without  satisfying  the  religious  sentiment,  the  cHiei  cotv^ 
cem  of  theology.  Some  of  them  maintain  that  God's' fore- 
knowledge does  not  determine  human  deeds.-  Maimanidefe 
and  his  school,  however,  say  that  it  is  impossible  for  ub  to 
comprehend  the  knowledge  and  power  of  God,  and  that  ther^^ 
fore  such  a  question  is  outside  the  sphere  of  human  knowl- 
edge. "Know  that,  just  as  God  has  made  the  elements^f 
fire  and  air  to  rise  upwards  and  water  and  earth  to  sink' down- 
ward, so  has  He  made  man  a  free,  self-determiniwg'bein/? 
tvho  acta  of  his  own  volition.v^  The  Mohammedans  wduld 
of«e«  give  tip' (human  freedom  ratherthan  the' dmhiscittttfe 
and  kll-dettrmtnirig  power  <!)f  God;  but  the  Jewish  thinkferS, 
'"■•toi'fe.Ti.'Sh.'T,  ^3r:R;h.'Sh.  r6a.  '■    ■'    -'    '"^1    i'!--'    1  I'/.i' 

'Saadia;:.  Emanotiil  m  7);  Bahya ,  Ilvtoth  ht  Mabotk;  III.  S,  JV  31,  ,1 1 
r.A  ''•^"f"*"*^;   Mnreh,I,23;  111,16-1,,;  comp.  Cuzari,V,  2<^2Z ;  Albo: 
u  T**;     *'""'  Gereonides:  Mi!bavwth,lU,  3;  vl,  (1.^18;   Isaac  bea  She. 
sheUi:   ResponsAi.iig;  Lipman  Hdler  ta  Aboth  III,  is.    See  Joel;   Leciben 


■}LT'•^'i■,'''tP'*^. 


f^'i"vr-«cf'V^i^v>  «»»jsr*'/i«ii-»'.*'  ai:m/i.iJv^\-^9m'Mr-'yve'VKit<t^^ 


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172 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


significantly,  with  only  the  possible  exception  of  Crescas,' 
laid  stress  upon  the  divine  nature  which  man  attains  through 
moral  freedom,  even  at  the  risk  of  limiting  the  omniscience  of 
God. 

7.  The  philosophers  failed,  however,  to  emphasize  sufTi- 
ciently  a  point  of  highest  importance  for  religion,  God's 
paternal  care  for  all  His  creatures.  Indeed,  God  ceases  to  be 
God,  if  He  has  not  included  our  every  step  in  His  plan  of 
creation,  thus  surrounding  us  with  paternal  love  and  tender 
care.  Instead  of  the  three  blind  fates  of  heathendom  who  spin 
and  cut  the  threads  of  destiny  without  even  knowing  why, 
the  divine  Father  himself  sits  at  the  loom  of  time  and  appor- 
tions the  lot  of  men  according  to  His  own  wisdom  and  good- 
ness. Such  a  belief  in  divine  Providence  is  ingrained  in  the 
soul,  and  reasoning  alone  will  not  suffice  to  attain  it.  There- 
fore even  such  great  thinkers  as  Maimonides  and  Gersonides 
go  astray  as  religious  teachers  when  they  follow  Aristotelian 
principles  in  this  very  intimate  matter.  They  assume  a 
general  Providence  aiming  for  the  preservation  of  the  species, 
but  include  a  special  Providence  only  so  far  as  the  recipient 
of  it  is  endowed  with  reason  and  has  thus  approached  the 
divine  Intellect.  A  Providence  of  this  type,  the  result  of 
human  reasoning,  is  a  mere  illusion,  as  the  pious  thinker, 
Hasdai  Crescas,  clearly  shows.-  For  the  man  who  prays  to 
God  in  anxiety  or  distress  this  bears  nothing  but  dis- 
appointment. 

The  Aristotelian  conception  of  the  world  has  this  great 
truth,  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  chance,  that  everything 
is  foreseen  and  provided  by  the  divine  wisdom.  But  religion 
must  hold  that  the  individual  is  an  object  of  care  by  God, 
that  "not  a  sparrow  falls  into  the  net  without  God's  will,"'' 

'  See  Or  .-Irfoxa/,  II,  3;  comp.  Joel :  //iJ^J.j/CrMfa^,  41-40,  54-55  ;  Neumark: 
"Crescas  atid  Spinoza,"  in  Y.  B.  C.  C.  A.  R.,  iqoS,  vol.  XVIII,  p.  277-310. 
*0r  Adonai,  III,  24.  '  Gen.  R.  LXXIX,  16:  comp.  Matt.  X,  29. 


THE   MORAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  WORLD      17,^ 

that  "every  hair  on  the  head  of  man  is  counted  and  cared  for 
in  the  heavenly  ortler,"  '  and  that  the  most  insignificant 
thing  serves  its  purjwse  under  the  guidance  of  an  all-wise 
(iod.  We  use  figurative  expressions  for  the  divine  care, 
because  we  cannot  grasp  it  entirely  or  literally. 

8.    The  fiible  in  the  Song  of  Moses  compares  divine  Provi- 
dence to  the  eagle  spreading  her  protecting  wings  over  her 
young  and  hearing  them  aloft,  or  urging  them  to  soar  along.2 
The  rabbis  elaborate  this  by  referring  to  the   twofold   care 
which  the  eagle  thus  bestows,  as  she  watches  over  those  who 
are  still  tender  and  helpless,  shielding  them  from  the  arrows 
below  by  bearing  them  on  her  wings,  but  inspiring  the  maturer 
and  stronger  ones  to  fly  by  her  side.'     In  the  same  way  Provi- 
dence trains  both  individuals  and  generations  for  meir  al- 
lotted task.     A  little  child  requires  incessant  care  on  the  part 
of  its  mother,  until  it  has  learned  how  to  eat,  walk,  speak, 
and  to  decide  for  itself,  but  the  wise  parent  gradually  with- 
draws his  guiding  hand  so  that  the  growing  child  may  learn 
self-reliance  and  self-respect.    The  divine  Father  trains  man 
thus  through  the  childhood  of  humanity.     But  no  sooner  does 
the  divine  spirit  in  man  awaken  to  self-consciousness  than  he 
is  thrown  on  his  ow  \  resources  to  become  the  master  of  his 
own  destiny.     The  divine  power  which,  in  the  earlier  stages, 
had  worked  for  man,  now  works  -u-'ith  him  and  unthin  him. 
In  the  rabbinic  phrase,  he  is  now  ready  to  be  a  "co-worker 
with  God  in  the  work  of  creation."  "    Only  at  those  grave 
moments  when  his  own  powers  fail  him,  he  still  feels  in  the 
humility  of  faith  that  his  ancient  God  is  still  near,  "a  very 
present  help  in  trouble,"  and  that  "the  Guardian  of  Israel 
neither  slumbereth  nor  sleepcth."  ^ 
9.   At  this  point  philosophy  and  religion  part  company. 

•  B.  B.  16  a;  comp.  Matt.  X,  30;   Luke  XII,  7. 

»  Deut.  XXXII,  1 1.  3  Mck.  Vithro  2 ;  Sifre  ad  !oc. 

'  Shab.  119  b.  6  ps.  XLVI,  z ;  CXKl,  4. 


.  v--Bri-A*tw  '^T^'M^jv'-i^iwrsa. 


•n  M.^'^fiKf^^vt »  »  .r'sr.'r.  ** 


^1 


»74 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


til 


\\V. 

I 


"h 


K. 


Philosophy  cannot  tolerate  the  femovai  of  the  dividing  lioe 
between  the  transcendent  God  and  Onite  man.  llenctr  tha 
relation  of  man's  fi'-«  wilt  ami  divine  foresight  cannot  be* 
solvod  byohy  pPocesH  of  reasoning.  But  when  religion  pro^ 
claims  a  moral  guvcrnmunt  uf  the  world,  then  man,  with  hiA 
rrioral' andi^irituql  aims,  attiiins  a  place  in  Creation  akin 
to  the  Creator  •■Oi:  cdursp,  so  long  as  he  is  mentally  a  child 
and  has  no  cl(!ar  purpose;  J^videnceaiCts  fur  hiiki<a&  it  does 
for  the  anumalivith  tta  muovcluus  instincts. 'ThocMgh  His 
chosen  messmgera  f  God  fivesi  the  people  bredd  .  and ;  Mrlatdr , 
freedom  ind  victoryt,  uisHiiluitlion  anfl  Jiatvu<.  Thui  wOhdroua 
torlcsdoscribixiig' the  divirie  pvoitvcddniof  Jsitacl.ihilsieat-lyHfd 
may  Strike  us  as  oat  bf  halrmony  With  the  Uws  (  natiire, 
but  they  are  true  portrayals  of  the  experience.  Of  the  people, 
Wh^tei'cr  happened  for  their  goodiinithoseidftys  liaid  to^bd 
the  vTorJdiof  Gtxl;-  they  ihad  moti  yeti  wakeaed  toiitheipowsc 
hidikn  ih  their  owm  laoyL  •  Their  heioes  felt  theniaol^cs  tol  be 
divrrie  institikdcntsii roused'by -His  spirit  tQipetformiitnifhtJ^ 
deeds  or  t6  behold  pijopfllietjid  iVisioQs.  It  ds  (bod  who.ibwttlea 
thtxbugh-  themi  JM  is  Odd  whd  sp^akiii through)  them^.'iBoth 
their  itiaraliandi  spiritalail  gaidaiice  works  f roan iwitiaouU. and 
abb>^e.  'AtiithMlistage  of  life  autonomy  is  aiithen  ielt'noi 
desirdd.  'W'henhiati  ar^v^aJtens  to  nfiofal  selffddhsciouiaiets  and 
maturity,  this  innerilch&nge.impreaises  himnaS'iani'OiHer  dne^ 
the  change  in  hifh  M  interprotod  as  aithangeiifi  iGodkM.He ieelfe 
that  God  !ha$  witht)raT(vri  behind  His  iHornalilaws  bf.  nature 
and  molality' which  woiikliwithoutdiceet.inittrferfcnce;  and  in 
his  new  sense! ctfiindepOndenoeihethiriks:  that' he: can  dislpenae 
Withi  the  idii^Hno -protfettirtiit.fanki  forethtnaghtjii  Afr-Jf  mortaU 
man  can  ever  dispense  with  that  tPbwieiri  Which  !haa endowed 
him  with  his  capacity  for  worthy  accomplishment !'  Thus  in 
times  of  danger  and  distress  man  turns  to  God  for  help ; 
thus  at  every  great  tui;ning  point  in  the  li^^  of  an  individual 
or  nation».tJie  idea  uf  iin  all*- wise  Providence  ifl^hues.him  with 


.^'vJ- 


.  »V«  IMy^t^  ''=>.'i»Uti'--^..f! 


TirE   MORAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  WORLD       175 

new  hope  and  new  security.  And  in  all  these  cases  the  great 
lesson  .,f  pn.vi.lential  direction  is  typilU<l  in  the  history  of 
Israel  as  related  in  the  Hihie. 

10.  The  idea  of  Providence,  indeed,  belongs  also  to  certain 
pagan  ,)hilosoph(rs.  wh(,  observed  the  great  purp<,ses  of 
nature  which  the  single  creatu,e  aa(^,ihe  species  are  both  to 
.^rve.  The  Stoics  in  particular  made  a  stU(!  of  teleology 
the  system  of  pgrposiye  e^ifls  in,  n;. turq.  J'^w^^^a.L.pted  much 
from  them  in  his  treatise  on  Providence.  Later  the  popular 
ptoMMophfc  fsroop  amon!?'th^  Mohammttfens.  the' s6-ca1led 
"Broineraof  Piirityr  ba«ml  th,»ir  df^iirines  of  Oo<i  and  H?s 
relation  ttJ  the  world  on  a  tdi^olngrjrdl  view  of  nature.  7h 
fict.  the  JetyishphilosophtTiirtil  m(*a«st  BaHyrt  behiPakuddh 
has  embodied  many  of  iheli*  ideas  In-  his— Duties  of  ihe 

Jewish  folklore -wpreeened  in  raW)frt<b  llteratiii-e  -  has 
also  attempted  a  populai^  .exi)lianation  6(^  ithe  bb«^ih*e  ways  of 
Providtoce;  instrtuffc  fcvtntiof  nft'fur*  ^*,iKvd\  a.<  the  gitJit 
enigmas  of- human  dostiriy.  ThUs  the  flight  of  David  irdttx 
Saul  aflfonfe  the  Icsarin^  of  the  gocid  rut|v»<w  wW^h  may  be 
served  byso  mmgniticartt  a  thingas  a  spidet,  rfr  by  so  dreadful 
a  state  as  insanity.^  .  Vast  number,  of  the  Jewish  legends 
and  fables  deal  with  ailversitieft 'whjfh  are  turned  into  ulti- 
mate good  by ithe  \^rking  erf  ein  alKWiso  Providence » 

1  S.'^-t'l'^  Kaufmann  :  ■'Th^i:  d.  R.  b.  PM^"  p.  ',.0 

■    '  ■•'■■■        '.:     ■    .-  .■;     .     ,,i-ii   :.    .       ,;      .. 

■'   ■  ■■     ■'■-'  ■         .  -      ■  ■^'  ■      'i!..'-    -  -1:1..'  ,■,!.•    ■  1:      •.),,, 


,1  •''  .1 


I 


>       >*' 


I    „ 

11 


'( 


.h 


i 


I 


Lm  1 


tl 


:   t? 


■ 


LI 


CHAPTER   XXIX 

God  a.'d  the  Kxistence  of  Evil 

I.  A  leading  objection  to  the  belief  in  divine  Providence 
is  the  existence  in  this  world  of  physical  and  moral  evil.  All 
living  creatures  are  exposed  to  the  influence  of  evil,  according 
to  their  physical  or  moral  constitutions  and  the  peculiar  con- 
ditions of  their  existence.  Heathenism  accounts  for  the 
powers  of  darkness,  pain  and  death  by  assuming  the  exist- 
ence of  forces  hostile  to  the  heavenly  powers  of  light  and  life, 
or  of  a  primitive  principle  of  evil,  the  counterpart  of  the 
divine  beings.  But  to  those  who  believe  in  an  almighty  and 
all-benign  Creator  and  Ruler  of  the  universe,  the  question 
remains :  Why  do  life  and  the  love  of  life  encounter  so  many 
hindrances?  Why  does  Gotl's  world  contain  so  much  pain 
and  bitterness,  so  much  passion  and  sin  ?  Should  not  Provi- 
dence have  averted  such  things?  The  answer  of  Judaism 
has  already  been  stated  here,  but  we  need  further  elaboration 
of  the  theme  that  there  is  no  evil  before  God.  since  a  good 
purpose  is  served  even  by  that  which  appears  bad.  In  the 
life  of  the  human  body  pleasure  and  pain,  the  impetus  to  life 
and  its  resiraint  and  inhibition  foi-m  a  necessary  contrast, 
making  for  health;  so,  in  the  moral  order  of  the  universe, 
each  being  who  battles  with  evil  receives  new  strength  for  the 
unfolding  of  the  good.  The  principle  of  holiness,  which  cul- 
minates in  Israel's  holy  God,  transforms  and  ennobles  every 
evil.  As  the  Midrash  explains,  referring  to  Deut.  XI,  26 : 
**If  thou  but  5cc5t  that  both  good  and  evil  are  jjlaced  in  thy 

176 


«.:»^T^!?jf^ 


r..'«s.-.j.-"r»-r  iy 


'■'■-r^ 


r^'mrjj 


(iOI)    AM)    liiK   EXI.STi:\TF.  f)F   EV 


IL 


'77 


hand,  no  evil  will  cmc  t.)  th^c  (mm  aUow,  since  thou  knowot 
how  to  turn  it  into  ^ood  "  ' 

2.    The  ...n.vptiun  of  evil  passed  through  a  development 
parallel  with  (hat  of  the  related  ...nee,,ti..ns  whirh  we  have 
just  reviewed.     At  first  every  misfortune  was  cnsidere.l  to 
he  inflK  ted  l.y  divine  wrath  us  a  punishment  for  human  mi.s- 
tleetls.     .vations  and  in.lividuals  were  thought  to  suffer  for 
some    special    moral    cause;     thn>UK'h    sutTerinR    they    were 
punished  for  pa>l  wrong,  warned  against  its  repetition  in  the 
future,  and  urged  to  repentance  and  improvement  of  their 
conduct.     Even  death,  the  fate  of  all  living  creatures,  was 
regarded  as  a  punishment  which  the  first  pair  .,f  human  beings 
hr.mght  upon  all  their  descendants  through  their  transgres- 
sion of  the  divine  command.     The  Talmudic  sages  clung  to  the 
view  of  the  Paradise  legend  in  the  Bible,  when  they  held  that 
every  death  is  due  to  some  sin  committed  by  the  individual ' 
This  view,  which  was  shared  by  paganism,  was  accom- 
panied  by  a  higher  conception,   gradually   growing   in  the 
thinking  mind.     As  a  father  does  not  punish  his  child  in 
anger,  but  in  order  to  improve  his  conduct,  so  God  chastens 
man  in  order  to  purify  his  moral  nature.     (;„„d  fortune  tends 
to  harden  the  heart ;  adversity  often  softens  and  sweetens  it 
In  the  crucible  of  suffering  the  gold  of  the  human  soul  is  puri- 
tied  from  the  dross.     The  evil  strokes  of  dcstinv  come  upon 
the  righteous,  not  because  he  deserves  them,  but  because  his 
divine  Friend  is  raiding  him  to  still  higher  tests  of  virtue. 
This  standpoint,  never  reached  even   by  the  pious  sufferer 
Job,  IS  attai'-'d  by  rabbinic  Judaism  when  it  calls  the  visita- 
tions of  the  righteous  "  trials  of  the  divine  love."  =>     Thus  evil, 
both  physical  and  spiritual,  receives  its  true  valuation  in  the 
divine  economy.      Evil  exists  only  to  be  overcome  by  the 

'  See  Gen.  R.  IX,  s,  lo,  i, ;  Dillmann,  1.  c,  309-318;  D.  F.  Strauss,  1.  c,  II. 
»  Shab.  55  a.  1  Ber.  5  a,  after  Deut.  VIII,  5  ;   Prov.  Ill,  w. 

N 


17^ 


JEAVISM  THBOWWY 


'!■ 


f 
A 


i.  1 


giMKi     ]i\  UU  iNitcrivil  itiKKlnc»H  God  umm  it  to  ttlttcalc  Uiti 

thi'driMi  fur  a  pliuc  in  His  kingtiorrt.  ' 

J).  AcCwrdiiig  U)  Lbu  direct  words  of  Scripture  godd  and 
t'vil,  liKbt  and  clitfUiKH^,  enmmiCe  atib*  from  the  Creator. 
Thi^  Ih  rtixetiUiate*!  by  tht  great  seer  of  tl»e  Kxile,'  who  pro 
tchlsi  uf^iraC  tiie  I'rrHii<;n  bulicf  in  a  crrativa  priiui|)le  of  K<)«)d 
and  «  dcfetruttivu  principle  of  eviJ.  The  rabbiH,  however, 
a»crihe  iht  urii^n<  ai  fvll  tu  inaa;  tJioy  laltc  a;!  a  negation 
rttAkuTi  tJian, a  qucstiim  the  vbnteiia  Lam.  Ill,  38:  '*l>6  not 
evil  tnd  guod  irano  out  of  the  mouth  of)  the  Mot»t  High?" 
Thus  theyirefer  this  to  Lho  word*  of ' DuUtertjnoiny^  "Behold, 
I  ba.vci  sot  befV)ru  you  this  d&y-  lifd  and  goO<L,  dc^iLh  ntud  evil; 
chootie  thou  lift"  1'-^  ,1  1  1 

Huch  mddieval  thinkers.  a&Abrakim  Ibn  Duudarid  Mai* 
monidts  did  not  ascribe  16  uiilarty  rerfHty  at  ill!.'  Evil  to 
thum  iti  the  negation  of  good^jusl  oHdarkacMi  is  tho  negation 
of  light,  or  poverty  of  irichci.  Mi  evil  c»<lHt6  only  for  min, 
man  cnn  overcome  it  by  himself/ ,  Before,  God' it  has  no  es- 
sential cixistent'e.  Unfortunatt-ly,  Juch  netuphysics  does  not 
equip  mart  with  strength  and  ctxiroge  to  iDpe  with  tithtr  pain 
ot  sin.  The  same  lack  is  e^ident  in  that  ijiodern  f<urm  of 
pseudo+sciend©  which  pwses  as  a  relij^ion,  Chtistian  Sbience, 
whiclii  his  made  pn)p(lgandat  so  uikiely  among  b6th  Jew^  and 
nonJewB.  ■  Christian  Scichoo  dbclareti  ipain,  sibkaissj  and  all 
evil  to  be  ikiereiy  thd  "error  of  mbrtai  mihd,"i  which  tran  all 
be  dispdlcdby  faith;  Such  a  vietT  neither  strbngthbni  th^ 
soul  far  its  real  struggles  nor  convinces  the  mind  by  aa  appeal 
to  facts.* 

4.   Fttil  mortals  as  we  are.  we  need  the  help  of  the  living 
G6di    Thus  bnly  can  ^c  overoome  physical  eiv'l,  knowing 


^1    - 


•  Isa.  XI.V,  7.  '  Dcut.  XI,  27 ;  see  the  Midnish  ad  loc. 

1    '  Emunak  JLamoh,ci.  Weil,  93  i.  i  Ut>reiit  ill,  to. 
<See  M.  Lefkovitz,  "The  Attitude  of  Judaism  to  Christian  Science,"  in 
Y.  B.  C.  C.iAi  R.  XXII,  jeotiiS..  ■       :.    .1  l        j. 


^^i^ 


^^^^f^z-w^^m.. 


GOD  AND    rilK  KXISTENC  K  OK   K\  11,  lyg 

that  III-  hoars  with  us.  ivvU  with  us,  ami  transfornn  it  finally 
into  k.khI.     \Vc  rui«l  it  also  t.»  ovi-nonu'  moral  ivil.  in  thf 
ronsciousmss  that   He  ha-.  »..mpa>>iuu  u|..in   llu-  npcntant 
sinner  ami  nivrs  him  cuuraKo  t<»  follow  tin-  ri^'lit  path.     Tho 
m.Klfrn  philo^ophirs  oi  pc^simiMn  h.i.l  thi-  lorrnt  fc.  linj?  in 
I'doptiiiK  thi-  lliiiilu  nuutption,  and  tmpha>i/iiiK  the  pain 
ami  miMTv  of  i-vistfrno.  repeating  Job's  andrnt  plaint  over 
llif  har.l  .Irstiny  of  mankiml.      llu-  shallow  optimism  of  the 
age  would  rathtr  (.mu-al  tin-  dark  m      of  life  ;in.|  imIulKc  in 
outbursts  of  Mlfsunuit-nry.     Yet  if  we  nu-a^un-  it  only  by  a 
physical   yard>tiik,  life  cannot  be  (all.-d  a  boon.     AKainst 
shallow  optimism  we  have  the  testimony  of  eviry  thorn  and 
sting,  every  poisimous  breath  and  every  «lestru.  tive  tiement  in 
nature's  household,  as  well  as  all  vit  e  and  evil  in  the  world  of 
man.     The  world  does  not  ap|)ear  rcxhI,  unless  we  measure  it 
by  the  ideal  of  divine  holiness.     If  (J.mI  is  the  Father  watch- 
ing over  the  welfare  of  every  mortal,  all  things  are  go(Kl.  be- 
cause all  serve  a  gotwl  purpose  in  His  eternal  plan.     Kvvry 
hindrance  or  pressure  en,nenders  new  jxiwer ;  every  sting  acts 
as  a  spur  to  higher  things.     Shortsighted  and  short  lived  as 
is  man.  he  forgets  too  easily  that  in  thi?  sight  of  God  "a 
thousand   years   are   as   a   single   day."    world-ep  nhs    like 
"watches  in  the  night."  ami  that  the'mills  of  <l      n,    it!       e 
grind  on.  "slowly  but  exceeding  small."     But  oi..-  be!         lu- 
mines  the  darkness  of  destiny,  and  that  is  that  (1.  .d  ^tand     ver 
at  the  helm,  steering  through  every  storm  an  I  t(  mpc^t  t        rd 
His  sublime  goal.     In  the  moral  striving  ol  man  wi  n 

realize  that  our  every  victory  contributes  toward  the  n 
work  of  God.' 

'  See  Morris  Joseph,  I.  c,  p.  to8,  1.17  iT. ,  C.  Sdignun,  I.  c,  so-6H. 


m^^^^m^^ 


,4 

•4 


> 


I 


1^ 


\n 


I; 


("IIAPTKR  XXX 

Got)   ANU   THK   AnC.F.LS 

I.  Judaism  insists  with  unrckntinR  severity  on  the  abso* 
lute  unity  and  imomparability  of  (i«Ml,  so  that  no  other 
being  can  Ik-  plated  beside  Ifim.  C'onsetjuently.  every  men- 
tion of  divine  beings  ililohim  or  h'ne  Elohim)  in  either  the 
Bible  or  j>ost  Hiblical  literature  refers  to  subordinate  beings 
only.  These  spirits  constitute  the  celestial  court  for  the 
King  of  the  World.'  All  the  forces  of  the  universe  are  His 
servants,  fulfdling  His  commands.  Hence  b'<th  the  He!)rew 
and  (Ireek  terms  for  angel,  Sfalak  and  ans^elos,  mean  "messen- 
ger." These  beings  derive  their  existence  irom  (itnl ;  s«)me 
of  them  are  merely  temporary,  so  that  without  Him  they 
dissolve  into  nothing.  Although  Scripture  uses  the  terms, 
"CickI  of  g.Kis"  and  "  King  of  kings,"  still  we  cannot  attribute 
any  imiependent  existence  to  subordinate  divine  beings.  In 
fact.  Maimonides  in  his  sixth  article  of  f.iith  holds  that  wor- 
ship of  su(  h  beings  is  prohibited  as  idolatry  l)y  the  seccmd 
commandniint.'  Thus  the  unity  of  Gml  lifts  Him  above 
comparison  with  any  other  divine  being.  This  is  most  em- 
phatically ex[)ressed  in  Deuteronomy:  "Know  this  day,  and 
lay  it  to  thy  heart,  that  the  Lord  Hi-  is  (lod  in  heaven  above, 
and  upon  the  earth  beneath ;    there  is  none  else,"  '  and  '  See 

'(-.in.  Vr.  s;   J..b  1,6;    II.  i;   XXXIII,  7;   <">cn.  XXXII,  jg;   XXXIII, 
10;  Ju.l.  Xm.  21,   Ps.  VIII,  6. 

•lomp.  .Mck.  Yithro  7  ihrDUnh  10;  IIuI.  40;  los.  IIul.  II,  18;  Ab.  Z. 
42  b;   Maimonides  to  Sanh.  X;  Tarj;.  Y.  to  l.x.  XX,  3. 

»  Ucut.  iV,  3Q. 

180 


-•    fr-.----' 


r/)D   AND   THE   ANGELS 


lAi 


now  thai  I,  rvpn  I,  am  He.  and  there  ii  no  k.mI  with  Mc,  I 
kill  iinil  nnike  alive;  I  have  Wiiumirt!  and  I  heal,  and  there  in 
n«»ne  that  «an  deliver  out  of  My  hand."  '  The  sime  attitude 
is  round  in  haiah :  "I  am  the  Lord  that  maketh  all  things, 
that  stretched  forth  the  heavens  alorie.  that  spread  abroad 
the  earth  by  Myself."  "I  am  the  LonI  and  there  is  none 
rise;  In-side  Me  then-  is  no  g«Ml."  »  Such  (oncepti.ms  allow 
no  plat  e  f«)r  angels  or  spirits. 

1.  It  was  certainly  not  easy  for  prophet,  lawgiver,  or  sage 
to  di.s|H'l  the  i>o|)ular  belief  in  tlivine  beings  or  |)owers.  whit  h 
primitive  Ju(!aism  shareil  with  other  ancient  faiths.  No 
»hari>  line  was  drawn  at  first  between  (mkI  and  His  accom- 
panying angels,  as  wo  may  infer  from  the  story  of  the  angels 
who  apivared  to  Abraham,  and  the  similar  incidents  oi 
Hagar  and  Jacob.'  The  varying  application  of  the  term 
Elohim  to  CkkI  and  to  the  angels  or  ginls  is  proof  enough 
of  the  priority  of  iH»lytheism.  even  in  Judaism.  The  trees  or 
springs,  formerly  seats  of  the  ancient  deities,  spirits,  or  de- 
mon:,, were  now  the  pLues  for  the  ajUH-'arance  of  angels, 
shorn  of  their  inde|H'ndence,  looking  like  liery  or  shining  human 
beings.  Popular  belief,  however.  |Hr|K'tuated  mythological 
elements,  ascribing  to  the  angels  higher  wisdom  and  some- 
times sensuality  as  well.  Such  a  case  is  the  fragment  pre- 
served in  Genesis  telling  of  the  union  of  sons  of  (Jod  to  the 
daughters  of  men.  causing  the  generation  of  giants. <  Ob 
viously  the  old  Babylonian  "mountain  of  the  g(K|>,"  with  its 
fiXKl  for  the  gods,  became  in  the  I\iradise  legend  the  garden 
of  Eden,  the  seat  of  God ;  *  and  the  Psalmist  still  speaks  of 
the"angels'  fotnl. "which  appeared  as  manna  in  the  wilderness." 
On  the  whole,  the  sacred  writers  were  most  eager  to  allot  to 
the  angels  a  very  subordinate  position  in  the  divine  household. 


« Dcut.  XXXII,  3q. 

» Comp.  Ezek.  XXVIII,  ij  f. 


•  Isa  XLIV.  J4  ,  XL.  5. 

•  (irn.  VI,  I  i. 

•  Ps.  LXXVIII,  25. 


J: 


182 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


ill  i 
r 


H'H  ' 


,1 


I    L 


!'  ;! 


They  figure  usually  as  hosts  of  beings,  numbered  by  myriads, 
wrapped  in  light  or  in  fleeting  clouds.  They  surround  the 
throne  or  chariot  of  God ;  they  comprise  His  heavenly  court 
or  council ;  they  sing  His  praise  and  obey  His  call. 

Scripture  is  (luite  silent  about  the  creation  of  these  angelic 
beings,  as  on  most  purely  speculative  questions.  At  the 
very  beginning  of  the  world  Clod  consults  them  when  He  is 
to  create  man  after  the  image  of  the  celestial  beings.  For 
this  is  the  original  meaning  of  Elohim  in  Gen.  I,  26  and  27 
and  V,  I  :  "Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  like- 
ness" ;  "And  God  creat'.-d  man  in  his  own  image,  in  the  image 
of  godl>  beings  He  rr'vited  him."  This  view  is  echoed  in 
Psalm  VIH,  verse  6:  'Thou  hast  made  him  a  little  lower 
than  godly  beings."  In  Job  XXXVHI,  7,  both  the  morning 
stars  and  the  sons  of  God,  or  angels,  "shout  together  in  joy  " 
when  the  Lord  laid  th    foundations  of  the  earth.' 

3.  In  Biblical  times  —  which  does  not  include  the  book  of 
Daniel,  a  work  of  the  Maccabean  time  —  the  angels  and 
demons  were  not  inve^ied  w>th  proper  names  or  special  func- 
tions. The  Biblical  system  does  not  even  distinguish  clearly 
between  good  and  evil  spirits.  The  goat-like  demons  of  the 
field  popularly  worshiped  were  merely  survivals  of  pagan 
superstitions.- 

In  general  the  angels  carry  out  good  or  evil  designs  accord- 
ing to  their  commands  from  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  They  are 
sent  forth  to  destroy  Sodom,  to  save  Lot,  and  to  bring  Abra- 
ham the  good  tidings  of  the  birth  of  a  son.'  On  one  occasion 
the  host  of  spirits  protect  the  people  of  God  ;  on  another  they 
annihilate  hostile  powers  by  pestilence  and  plagues.*  At  one 
time  a  multitude  appear,  led  by  a  celestial  chieftain ;   at  an- 

>  S;e  Dillmann,  1.  c,  318-3133;  Davidson,  1.  c,  280-300;  J.  E.,  art.  Angel- 
ology;   Knc.  Rel.  and  Eth.  I\',  504-f«3'.  art.  Demons. 

'  Lev.  XVII,  7;  Deut.  XXXII,  17  ;  Isa.  XXXIV,  14.  '  Gen.  XVIII. 

«  Ex.  XXIII.  2o;  II  Sam.  XXIV,  16;  II  Kings  XIX,  35  «'  <^-  See  J.  E., 
afl.  Aiigcioiogy. 


1 


GOD  AND  THE  ANGELS 


183 


other  a  single  angel  performs  the  miracle.  In  any  case  the 
destroying  angel  is  not  a  demon,  but  a  messenger  of  the  divine 
will.  Originally  some  of  these  i)rimitive  forces  were  dreaded 
or  Worshiped  by  the  people,  but  all  have  been  transformed 
into  members  of  the  celestial  court  and  called  to  bear  witness 
to  the  dominion  of  the  Omnipotent. 

4.  The  belief  in  angels  served  two  functions  in  the  develop- 
ment of  monotheism.  On  the  one  hand,  it  was  a  stage  in  the 
con*,  .ntration  of  the  divine  forces,  beginning  with  polytheism, 
continuing  through  belief  in  angels,  and  culminating  in  the 
one  and  only  God  of  heaven  and  earth.  On  the  other  hand, 
certain  sensuous  elements  in  the  vision  of  God  by  the  seers 
had  to  be  removed  in  the  spiritualization  of  God,  and  it  was 
found  easiest  to  transform  these  into  sei)aratc  beings,  related 
to  Deity  himself.  Thus  the  fiery  appearance  of  God  to  the 
eye  or  the  voice  which  was  manifested  to  the  car  were  often 
personified  as  angels  of  God.  This  very  process  made  pos- 
sible the  purification  of  the  God  idea,  as  the  sublime  essence 
of  the  Deity  was  divested  of  physical  and  temporal  elements, 
and  God  was  conceived  more  and  more  as  a  moral  and  spiritual 
personality.  Hence  in  Biblical  passages  the  names  of  God 
and  of  the  angel  frequently  alternate.'  The  latter  is  only  a 
representative  of  the  divine  personality  —  in  Scriptural  terms, 
the  presence  or  "face"  of  God.  Therefore  the  voice  of  the 
angel  is  to  be  obeyed  as  that  of  God  himself,  because  His 
name  is  present  in  His  representative.  A  similar  meaning  be- 
came attached  later  on  to  the  term  Shckinafu  the  "majesty" 
of  God  as  beheld  in  the  cloud  of  fire.  This  was  spoken  of  in 
place  of  God  that  He  might  not  be  lowered  into  the  earthly 
sphere.  For  further  discussion  of  this  subject,  see  chapter 
XXXII,  "God  and  Intermediary  Powers."  In  fact,  we  note 
that  the  post-exilic  prophets  all  received  their  revelations,  not 
from  God,  but  through  a  special  angel.-  They  no  longer 
»  Ex.  Ill,  2-4 ;  XXIII.  20-21 :  Isa  LXIII.  q,        « Zech,  r  q  f, ;  II.  i  f, 


1 84 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


"A  I 


I :.  ••  / 


ii 


141 


believed  that  Go<J  might  be  seen  or  heard  by  human  powers, 
and  therefore  their  visions  had  to  be  translated  into  rational 
thoughts  by  a  mediating  angel. 

5.  Persian  influence  gave  Jewish  angelology  and  demon- 
ology  a  different  character.  The  two  realms  of  the  Persian 
system  included  vast  hosts  of  beneficent  spirits  under  Ahura- 
Mazda  (Ormuzd)  and  of  demons  under  the  dominion  of  Angro- 
mainyus  (Ahriman).  So  in  Judaism  also  different  orders  of 
angels  arose,  headed  by  archangels  who  bore  special  names. 
The  number  seven  was  adopted  from  the  Persians,  while  both 
names  and  order  were  often  changed.  All  of  them,  however, 
were  allotted  special  functions  in  the  divine  household.  The 
pagan  deities  and  primitive  spirits  which  still  persisted  in 
popular  superstition  were  given  a  new  lease  of  life.  Each  force 
of  nature  was  given  a  guardian  spirit,  just  as  in  nature-wor- 
ship ;  angels  were  appointed  over  fire,  water,  each  herb,  each 
fountain,  and  every  separate  function  of  life.  A  patron  angel 
was  assigned  to  each  of  the  seventy  nations  of  the  world  men- 
tioned in  the  genealogy  of  Noah.' 

Thus  the  celestial  court  grew  in  number  and  in  splendor.  A 
beginning  was  made  with  the  heavenly  chariot-throne  of  Eze- 
kiel,  borne  aloft  by  the  four  holy  living  creatures  (the  hayoth), 
surrounded  by  the  fiery  Cherubim,  the  winged  Seraphim,  and 
the  many-eyed  Ofanim  (wheels).^  This  was  elaborated  by 
the  addition  of  rows  of  surrounding  angels,  called  "angels  of 
service,"  headed  by  the  seven  archangels.  Of  these  the  chief 
was  Michael,  the  patron-saint  of  Israel,  and  the  next  Gabriel, 
who  is  sometimes  even  placed  first.  Raphael  and  Uriel  are 
regularly  mentioned,  the  other  three  rarely,  and  not  always 
by  the  same  names.  The  Irin  of  Daniel — known  as  'the 
Watchers,"  but  more  precisely  "the  ever-watchful  Ones"  — 


m'i  ^^' 


'  See  J.  E.,  art.  Angelology. 

»Ezek.  1,4-24;  X,  1-22-  Isa.  VI,  2;  Dan.  IV,  10  f.;  VII,  9  f.;  VIII,  16  f.; 

X,  ij  f. ;  EiiuthXV,  I  f.,  alij  dbcv.'hert:. 


<^.ll 


GOD  AND  THE  ANGELS 


185 


are  another  of  the  ten  classes  of  angels  included.  Below  these 
are  myriads  of  inferior  angels  who  serve  them.  Their  classi- 
fication by  rank  was  a  favorite  theme  of  the  secret  lore  of  the 
Essenes,  partly  preserved  for  us  in  the  apocal>ptic  literature 
and  the  liturgy.  The  Esstnic  saints  endeavored  to  acquire 
miraculous  powers  through  using  the  names  of  certain  angels, 
and  thus  exorcising  the  evil  spirits. 

This  secret  lore  seems  to  be  patterned  after  the  Zoroastrian 
or  Mazdean  system.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  most  promi- 
nent angelic  figure  is  Metairon,  the  charioteer  of  the  Merkabah 
or  chariot-throne  on  high,  which  is  merely  another  form  of 
Mithras,  the  Persian  god  of  light,  who  acts  as  charioteer 
for  Ahura  Mazda.'  Two  other  angels  are  mentioned  as 
standing  behind  the  heavenly  throne,  Akalhriel,  the  crown- 
bearer  of  God,"  and  Sandalphon,  "the  twin  brother" 
=  Synadelphon. 

6.  A  striking  contrast  exists  between  the  simple  habitation 
in  the  sky  depicted  in  the  prophetic  and  Mosaic  books,  and 
the  splendor  of  the  heavenly  spheres  according  to  the  rabbinical 
writings.  The  Oriental  courts  lent  all  their  j,randeur  to  the 
majestic  throne  of  God,  on  which  He  was  e.xaltcd  al)ove  all 
earthly  things.  The  immense  space  between  was  filled  in  by 
innumerable  gradations  of  beings  leading  up  to  Him.  There 
was  no  longer  a  question  how  far  these  other  beings  shared 
the  nature  of  God ;  His  dominion  was  absolute.  Still  a  new 
question,  not  known  to  the  Bible,  arose,  as  to  when  the  angelic 
world  was  created  and  out  of  what  primordial  element.  At 
first  a  logical  answer  was  given,  that  the  angels  emanated 
from  the  element  of  fire.  Later  the  schoolmen,  trying  to  dis- 
pose of  the  angels  as  possible  peers  or  rivals  of  the  eternal 
God.  ascribed  their  creation  to  the  second  day,  when  the 
heaven  was  made  as  a  vault  over  the  earth,  or  to  the  fifth 

*  See  J.  E.,  art.  Merkabah,  thouRh  still  doubted  by  Bousset,  1.  c,  p.  406. 
For  Akathriel  see  Ber.  7  and  J.  E.,  art.  Sandalfon. 


\^} 


i86 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


fl, 

!l  1 


day,  when  the  winged  creatures  arose.'  On  the  whole,  the 
rabbis  denied  every  claim  of  the  angels  to  an  independent  or 
an  eternal  existence.  Just  because  they  firmly  believed  in  the 
existence  of  angels  and  even  saw  them  from  time  to  time, 
they  felt  boun.;  '<  declare  their  secondary  rank.  Only  the 
archangels  were  made  from  an  eternal  substance,  while  the 
others  were  continually  being  created  anew  out  of  the  breath 
of  God  or  from  the  "river  of  fire"  which  flowed  around  His 
throne.  Thus  even  the  realm  of  celestial  spirits  was  merged 
into  the  stream  of  universal  life  which  comes  and  goes,  while 
God  was  left  alone  in  matchless  sovereignty,  above  all  the 
fluctuations  of  time. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  rabbis  opposed  the  Essenic  idea  of 
assigning  to  the  angels  an  intermediary  task  between  God  and 
man,  and  deprecated  as  a  pagan  custom  the  wor.aip  or  invo- 
cation of  angels.  "Address  your  prayer  to  the  Master  of  life 
and  not  to  His  servants ;  He  will  hear  you  in  every  trouble," 
says  R.  Judan.'  Some  of  the  teachers  even  declared  that  any 
godly  son  of  Israel  excels  the  angels  in  power.  It  is  certainly 
significant,  as  David  Neumark  has  pointed  out,  that  the 
Mishnah  eliminates  every  reference  to  the  angels.' 

7.  In  spite  of  this,  none  of  the  medieval  Jewish  philoso- 
phers doubted  the  existence  of  angels.*  Indeed,  there  was  no 
reason  for  them  to  do  so,  as  they  had  managed  to  insert  them 
into  their  philosophic  systems  as  intermediary  beings  leading 
up  to  the  Supreme  Intelligence.  All  that  was  necessary  was 
to  identify  the  angels  of  the  Bible  with  the  "ideas"  of  Plato 
or  the  "rulers  if  the  spheres,"  the  "separate  intelligences" 
of  Aristotle.  B  •  this  one  step  the  existence  of  an,;els  as 
cosmic  powers  was  proved  to  be  a  logical  necessity.     The  ten 


t . 


'  Jubilees  II,  2  ;  Slav.  Enoch.  XXIX,  3 ;  I,  3 ;  Gen.  R.  Ill,  11. 
'  Ver.  Ber.  IX;   Sanh.  93  a;   Hul.  gi  b;   Ned.  32  a;   Gen.  R.  VIII,  XXI; 
Midr.  Teh.  to  Ps.  CIII,  18;  CIV,  i. 

■•  \cumark,  1.  c.  •  ischmiedl,  1.  c,  69-87. 


!'  >>] 


vncr*'^ '  -MMHii*^  ^Hwis th'^&.iiaivi  Hi  ff  ii  i-\  ."^  "SI  —  mwi  I 


GOD  AND  THE  ANGELS 


187 


rulers  of  the  spheres  even  corresponded  with  the  ten  orders  of 
angels  in  the  cosmography  of  the  Jewish,  Mohammedan,  and 
Christian  schoolmen.  The  only  diflerence  between  the  Aris- 
totelian and  the  rabbinical  views  was  that  the  former  held 
the  cosmic  powers  to  be  eternal ;  the  latter,  that  they  were 
created. 

In  both  Biblical  and  rabbinical  literature  the  angels  are 
usually  conceived  of  as  purely  spiritual  powers  superior  to  man. 
Maimonides.  however,  following  his  rationalistic  method,  de- 
clared them  to  be  simply  products  of  the  imagination,  the 
hypostases  of  figurative  expressions  which  were  not  meant 
t'»  be  taken  Uterally.  To  him  every  force  and  element  of 
nature  is  an  angel  or  messenger  of  God.  In  this  way  the 
entire  angelology  of  the  Bible,  including  even  Ezekiel's  vision 
of  the  heavenly  chariot  ''.he  Merkabah),  in  becoming  a  part 
of  the  Maimonidean  s>stem  turns  into  natural  philosophy 
pure  and  simple.*  Of  course,  Saadia,  Jehuda  ha  Levi,  and  Ga- 
birol  do  not  share  this  rationalistic  view.  To  them  the  angels 
are  either  cosmic  powers  of  an  ethereal  substance,  endowed 
with  everlasting  life,  or  living  beings  created  by  God  for 
special  purposes.'^ 

The  later  Cabbalistic  lore  extended  the  realm  of  the  celestial 
spirits  still  more,  creating  new  names  of  angels  for  its  mystical 
system  and  its  magical  practices.  Vet  in  this  magic  it  sub- 
ordinated the  angels  to  man.  In  fact,  it  followed  Saadia 
largely  in  this,  making  man  the  center  and  pinnacle  of  the 
work  of  creation,  in  fact,  the  very  mirror  of  the  Creator.' 

8.  For  our  modern  viewpoint  the  existence  of  angels  is  a 
question  of  psychology  rather  than  oi  theology.  The  old 
Babylonian  world  has  vanished,  with  its  heaven  as  the  dwell- 

'  Fesorff  Au  7"or<i/;,  II,  4-9 ;  .l/or.7/,  I,  43;  II.  j-7,  4' i  HI.  'i;  Ilusik,  1.  c, 

303  f- 

2  Entunoth,  IV,  i ;  VI,  j  ;  Iloholh  ha  Lcbaboth,  I,  6 ;  Cnzari,  IV.  3 ;  Emunah 

Ranuih,  IV,  7\   VI,  I  ;    Ikkarim.  II.  ;H.  u. 

'Zohar,  III,  68;  Joel :  Religions  philosophic  dcs  Zohar,  27S  f. 


i 


:l: 


iS8 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


II 'I 


*: 


fi; 


•I  1 '  i.-  f 


ing  place  of  Gml.  its  earth  for  man,  and  its  nether  world  for 
the  shades  and  demons.  The  world  in  which  we  live  knows 
no  above  or  beneath,  n«)  heaven  or  hell,  no  host  of  good  and 
evil  spirits  moving  abt)Ut  to  help  or  hurt  man.  It  sees  matter 
and  energy  working  everywhere  after  the  same  immutable 
laws  through  an  infmitude  of  space  and  time,  a  universe  ever 
evolving  new  orbs  of  light,  engendering  and  transforming 
worlds  without  number  and  without  end.  There  is  no  place 
in  infmite  space  for  a  heaven  or  for  a  celestial  throne.  A 
world  of  law  and  of  process  does  not  need  a  living  ladder  to 
lead  from  the  earth  below  to  God  on  high.  Though  the  stars 
be  peopled  with  souls  superior  to  ours,  still  they  cannot  stand 
nearer  to  God  than  does  man  with  his  freedom,  his  moral 
striving,  his  visions  of  the  highest  and  the  best.  Through 
man's  spiritual  nature  God,  too,  is  recognized  as  a  Spirit ; 
through  man's  moral  consciousness  God  is  conceived  of  as  the 
Ruler  of  a  moral  world ;  but  this  same  process  at  once  does 
away  with  the  need  for  any  other  spirits  or  divine  powers 
beside  Him.  God  alone  has  become  the  object  of  human 
longing.  Man  feels  akin  to  His  God  who  is  ever  near;  he 
learns  to  know  Him  ever  better.  He  can  dispense  with  the 
angelic  hosts.  As  they  return  to  the  fiery  stream  of  poetic 
imagination  whence  they  emerged,  nebulous  figures  of  a  glo- 
rious world  that  has  vanished,  man  rises  above  angel  and 
Seraph  by  his  own  power  to  the  dignity  of  a  servant,  nay,  a 
child  of  God.  Indeed,  as  the  rabbis  said,  the  prophets,  sages, 
and  seers  are  the  true  messengers  of  God,  the  angels  who  do 
His  service.' 

'  \ed.  20  b;   Midr.  Teh.  Ps.  CIII,  17-18;   Ibn  Ezra:   Introduction  to  his 
commentary  on  the  Pentateuch. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 


I 


Satan  and  the  Spirits  of  Evil 

1.  The  great  advantage  of  Ju'laisin  over  other  religious 
systems  lies  in  its  unitied  view  of  life,  which  it  regards  as  a 
continuous  conflict  between  good  and  evil  influences  within 
man.  As  man  succeeds  in  overcoming  evil  and  achieving 
good,  he  asserts  his  own  moral  personality.  Outside  of  man 
Judaism  sees  no  real  contrast  between  good  and  evil,  since 
both  have  emanated  from  God,  the  Spirit  of  goodness.  Ju- 
daism recognizes  no  primal  power  of  evil  plotting  against 
God  and  defying  Him,  such  as  that  of  the  Persian  dualism. 
Nor  does  Judaism  espouse  the  dualism  of  spirit  and  matter, 
identifying  matter  with  evil,  from  which  the  soul  strives  to 
free  itself  while  confined  in  the  prison  house  of  the  body. 
Such  a  conception  is  taught  by  Plato,  probably  under  Oriental 
influence,  and  is  shared  by  the  Hindu  and  Christian  ascetics 
who  torture  themselves  in  order  to  sup{)rcss  bodily  desire  in 
their  quest  of  a  higher  existence.  The  Jewi>h  conception  of 
the  unity  of  God  necessitates  the  unity  of  the  world,  which 
leaves  no  place  for  a  cosmic  principle  of  evil.  In  this  Judaism 
dissents  from  modern  philosophers  also,  such  as  John  Stuart 
Mill  and  even  Kant,  who  speak  of  a  radical  evil  in  nature. 
No  power  of  evil  can  e.xist  in  independence  of  God.'  As  the 
Psalmist  says:  "His  kingdom  rukth  over  all.  Bless  the 
Lord,  ye  angels  of  His,  ye  mighty  in  strength  that  fulfill  His 
word,  hearkening  unto  the  voice  of  His  word."  ^ 

'  Compare  Uen.  K.  to  Gen.  i,  it.  *  I's.  CHI,  19-20. 

189 


IQO 


JEWISH  THEOI.Or.Y 


f 


!     f 


^ti 


h 


I 


r 

i'    :. 


This  incTcasftl  the  «linkulty  of  the  problem  of  the  origin  of 
evil.  The  answer  given  by  the  general  Jewish  eonsiiousness, 
ex|)resse(|  hy  both  Bil)Iii.il  and  rabbiniial  writers,  is  that  evil 
n)mes  from  tiie  free  will  of  man.  who  is  en<lowe<l  with  the 
power  of  rebelling  against  the  will  of  (JimI.  Ihis  idea  is  sym- 
bolized in  the  story  of  the  fall  of  man.  The  serpent, or  tempter, 
represents  the  evil  inclination  which  arises  in  man  with  his 
first  consciousness  of  freedom.  So  in  Jewish  belief  Satan, 
the  Adversiiry,  is  only  an  allegorical  figure,  representing  the 
evil  of  the  world,  both  physical  and  moral.  He  was  sent  by 
God  to  test  man  for  his  own  gcxKl.  to  develop  him  morally. 
He  is  "the  spirit  that  ever  wills  evil,  l)ut  achieves  the  good," 
and  therefore  in  the  bcM)k  of  Job  he  actually  comes  before 
God's  throne  as  one  of  the  angels.' 

2.  In  tracing  the  belief  in  demons  we  must  draw  a  sharp 
distinction  between  popular  views  and  systematic  doctrine.' 
During  the  Biblical  era  the  people  believed  in  goat-like  spirits 
roaming  the  fields  and  woods,  the  deserts  and  ravines,  whom 
they  called  Seirim  -  hairy  demons,  or  satyrs,  —  and  to  whom 
they  sac  .ficed  in  fear  and  trembling.'  As  Ibn  Ezra  in- 
geniously pointed  out  in  his  commentary,  Azazel  was  origi- 
nally a  desert  demon  dwelling  in  the  ravines  near  Jerusalem, 
to  whom  a  scapegoat  was  offered  at  the  opening  of  the  year, 
a  rite  preserved  in  the  Day  of  Atonement  cult  of  the  Mosaic 
Code.^  In  fact,  in  ancient  Babylon,  Syria,  and  Palestine 
diseases  and  accidents  were  universally  ascribed  to  evil 
spirits  of  the  wilderness  or  the  nether  world.  The  Bible 
occasionally  mentions  these  evil  spirits  as  punitive  angels 
sent  by  God.     In  the  more  popular  view,  which  is  reflected 

'  Job  I,  6. 

'See  J.  F,.,  art.  DemonoloKy;  Satan;  Belial;  Em.  Rcl.  and  Eth.,  art. 
Demons  and  Spirit'^,  Jewish  ;  [)avidson,  1.  c,  300-306;  Dillmann,  1.  c,  334-340; 
D.  F.  Strau.^s,  1.  c,  11,  1-18. 

'Lev.  XVII,  7;   Heut.  XXXII,  17;  Isa.  XIII,  21;  XXXIV.  u. 

♦  Lev.  XVI,  8;  see  Ibn  Ezra;  J.  E.  and  Enc.  Rel.  and  Eth.,  art.  Azazel. 


SATXN   WD  TliE  SPIRITS  OP  FAIL 


igf 


by  apocryphal  and  rabbinical  literature,  and  which  was  in- 
fluenced by  lK)th  thr  Hal)ylonian  and  Persian  n  ligions,  they 
appear  in  intreasins  numbers  an<l  with  spn  iin  names.  Kath 
disease  had  its  |KHuliar  demon.  Desohite  pl.ues.  temeteries, 
and  the  darltness  of  night  were  all  peopled  by  suprrstition 
with  hosts  «»f  demons  iSlicJim).  at  whose  hrad  was  Aziizrl, 
Samarl,  Beelzebub,  the  Philistine  god  of  llies  and  of  illtu-.-* ; ' 
Belial,  kinj;  of  the  nether  w«)rld  ;  -  or  thi-  IVr>ian  Aslnmi  fhrn 
(F-vil  Spirit),  under  the  Hebrew  name  of  Ashnwdai  t)r  Slte- 
nnuhzdi."  The  (|ueen  of  the  demons  was  Lilit/i  or  Ig)!,creth 
bath  AfiihliUh,  "the  dancer  on  the  houset*»ps."  • 

The  Kssenes  seem  to  have  made  special  studies  of  both 
demonology  and  angelology,  lu-lievinR  that  thry  could  invoke 
the  g(MHl  spirits  and  conjure  the  evil  ones,  thus  curing  various 
diseases,  which  they  a>i  ribed  to  i)ossession  by  demons.  While 
these  exorcisms  are  not  so  common  in  the  Talmud  as  they  are 
in  the  New  Testament,  there  remain  many  indications  that 
such  practices  were  followed  by  Jewish  saints  an<l  believed 
by  the  people.  Often  the  ral)bis  seem  to  have  considered 
them  the  work  of  "unclean  spirits."  which  they  endeavored 
to  overcome  with  the  "spirit  of  holiness,"  and  particularly 
by  the  study  of  the  Torah.' 

3.  This  answers  implicitly  the  question  of  the  origin  of 
demons.  Obviously  the  Ixlief  in  malevolent  spirits  is  incom- 
patible with  the  existence  of  an  all-benign  and  all-wise  Creator. 
Accordingly,  two  alternative  explanations  are  offe.ed  in  the 
rabbinical  and  apocalyptic  writings.  According  to  one.  the 
demons  are  half  angelic  and  half  animal  beings,  sharing  in- 
telligence and  flight  with  the  angels,  sensuality  with  beasts 
and  with  men.  Their  double  nature  is  ascribed  to  incom- 
pleteness, because  they  were  created  last  of  all  beings,  and 

'  J.  E.,  art.  Beelzebub.  » J.  F...  art.  Belial. 

'Enoch  VI,  7;  J  E.  art.  A;h-vd3i;  Levy     W  R  ,  sh:vv;!rh^:,: 
*Levy  :  \V.  B.,  Lilith;  Iggereth.  'J.  K.,  art.  Demonolog>'. 


i 

"ft 
I 


» ^' 

i 


•  ( 


1  i 
JJ' 


191 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


their  rreation  was  interrupted  by  the  cominR  of  the  Sabbath, 
putting  an  emi  to  all  (nation.'  AiconlinK  to  the  other  view 
they  arc  the  offspring  of  the  "fallen  angels,"  issuing  from  the 
union  of  the  angels  with  th«'  daughters  of  men  as  <lescril)eel  in 
Clen.  VI,  I  f  I'hese  sprea«l  the  virus  of  impurity  <»ver  all  the 
earth,  causing  rarnal  desire  and  ever)'  kind  «>f  lewdness.  The 
whole  worirl  «)f  demons  is  regartled  as  alienated  from  (mm!  by 
the  relH'lli«m  of  the  heaveidy  hosts,  as  if  the  fall  of  man  by 
sin  had  its  prt)totype  in  the  celestial  sphere.*  A  rabbinical 
legend,  which  corresjMinds  with  a  Persian  myth,  ascribes  the 
origin  of  demons  to  the  intercourse  of  Adam  with  Lilith,  the 
night  spirit.'  ()n  the  other  hand,  the  archangel  Samael  is 
said  to  have  cast  lascivious  glances  at  the  beauty  of  Iac,  and 
then  to  have  turned  into  Satan  the  Tempter.*  The  Jewish 
systems  of  both  angelolog>'  and  demonology,  first  worked  out 
in  the  ai>ocalyptic  literature,  were  further  elaborated  by  the 
Cabbalah. 

Angelology  found  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  liturgy  in 
connection  with  the  Keditshuh  Benediction  and  likewise  in 
the  liturgy  and  the  theol  )gy  of  the  Church.' 

On  the  other  hand  the  belief  in  evil  spirits  and  in  Satan, 
the  Evil  One,  remained  rather  a  matter  of  popular  credulity 
antl  never  became  a  positive  doctrine  of  the  Synagogue. 
True,  the  liturgy  contained  morning  prayers  which  asked  God 
for  protection  against  the  Kvil  One,  and  formulas  invoking 
the  angels  to  shield  one  during  the  night  from  evil  spirits.* 
But  the  arch-fiend  was  never  invested  with  power  over  the 
soul,  depriving  man  of  his  perfect  freedom  and  divine  sover- 
eignty, as  in  the  Christian  Church. 

'  Abolh  V,  6;   \\  d.  R.  F:I.,  XIX;  Gen.  R.  VII,  7. 

'  Kmxh  Vn  ;   Valkut  (".en.  44,  47.  >  Erubin,  iS  b 

•P.  d.  R.  1:1. ,  XIII;   Yalkut  Gen.  25. 

»  See  .Xbrahams'  .Ann.  to  Sinijcrs'  Praycrb.  XLIV  f.  and  for  the  Church,  Enc. 
Re!,  and  K'h  ,  F)prn..n5  and  Spirit?,  Christian. 
•  Abrahams,  1.  c,  p.  7,  196;  XX,  CCXV. 


SATAN  AM)  TIIE  SPIRITS  OF  EVIt 


»0i 


4.  In  the  formation  of  the  idea  of  the  arch  fiend,  S,itaa, 
we  can  observe  the  inttrwDfking  of  !icvcr»il  cicmints.  The 
name  Satan  in  no  way  intli<  ates  u  domon.  It  di-noto?*  simply 
the  adviTsary,  the  one  who  olTers  hin«lrances.  The  name  wa* 
thuH  applied  to  the  aicuser  at  court  '  In  Zechariah  and  in 
Job'  Satan  ap|H>ars  at  the  throne  of  Gixi  as  the  prosecutor, 
roaming  aUmt  the  earth  to  eH|»y  the  transKreH-.ions  of  men, 
seeking  to  lure  them  to  their  destruction.  In  the  Bmjks  t>f 
Chronicles'  Satan  has  become  a  proper  name,  meaning  the 
Seducer. 

The  Serpent  in  the  Paradise  story  is  more  completely  a 
demon,  although  the  legend  intends  rather  to  actount  for 
man's  morality,  his  distim  tion  between  giMwl  and  evil.  Satan 
was  then  identified  with  th«-  serpent,  who  was  calleil  by  the 
rabbis  Nahash  ha  Kudmoiii,  "the  primeval  Serpent."  after 
the  analogy  of  the  seri)ent-like  form  of  Ahriman.  Thus 
Satan  In  the  ,  n  of  the  serjunt  bec;«me  the  embodiment  oi 
evil,  the  prime  ause  of  sin  and  death.*  ''  n>ly  a  part  in 
this  process  was  playe«l  by  the  Babylonian  h^  Tihamat, 

the  dragon  of  chaos  {Tchom  in  the  Hebrew),  wiii,  .uum  the 
god  Marduk  wrestled  for  donu  ion  «)ver  the  worhl,  and  who 
has  parallels  in  the  Biblical  Rahab  and  similar  mythological 
figures. 

We  must  not  overlook  such  rabbinical  legends  as  the  one 
about  how  the  poisonous  breath  of  the  serpent  infected  the 
whole  human  race,  except  Israel  who  has  Ix-en  sav  d  by  the  law 
at  Sinai.*  Occasionally  we  hear  that  the  Kvil  Sv,rit  {Yczer  ha 
Ra)  will  be  slain  by  God  •  or  by  the  Messiah.^  These  Haggadic 
sayings,  however,  were  never  accepted  as  normative  for  reli- 
gious belief.     On  the  contrary,  they  were  always  in  dispute, 


'  Ps.  nX.  6.  «Zech.  Ill,  i;   J(.!.  1.6. 

•See  n.  Wisdom  II,  ^4 ;   P.  d.  K.  Kl  ,  XIII. 
•Shab.  146  a;   Ycb.  loj  b;  Ab.  Zar.  Z2  b. 
•Suk.  sja.  '  Targ.  to  Isa.  XI,  4. 

o 


'  I  Chron.  XXI,  i. 


-I 


194 


JEWISH  TIIEf)L(K;Y 


H^' 


ami  many  a  TiilmutlU  ti-ai  hrr  m{nimi/.('(i  the  ftcndUh  t hnractcr 
c)(  Satan,  who  Ix-tamr  a  stimulus  lo  moral  iK-tlcrmcnt  throuKh 
thf  triaU  he  im|)<)Hi>-«.'  I'hilo,  allcKori/ing  the  k-genib,  turn* 
thr  evil  anf?i In  of  the  Hiblc  into  witknl  mm  ' 

5.  Ah  to  (InnonH  In  j^fniTal.  tht*  TalmiKlUt*  never  ilouhtcd 
thiir  «*xi»trnte,  but  in«Uav«tr«i|  to  minimiice  their  imiMirtanie. 
Thty  thanxnl  the  tU-mon  Aztizft  into  a  KcoRraphii at  term  by 
tran.siK)Hinj(  the  U-tter^^  They  explained  "the  min*  t)f  CkkI 
•..ho  tame  t«»  the  tlauyhterH  of  men  to  give  birth  to  the  KiantA 
of  old"  an  ari«*tiKrati»  Sethites  who  intermarried  with  low- 
claHH  famillts  of  the  C'ainites*  Ah  to  the  rest,  the  entire 
belief  in  demons  and  xhonts  was  t<M)  deeply  rmited  in  the  folk 
mind  to  be  nmnteracted  by  the  rabbis.  Kven  luiid  thinkers 
of  the  Middle  Ages  w«Te  taught  by  thesi-  baneful  nuperst" 
tions,  iiu  lu<lir)g  Jehufia  ha  Levi.  CreHtas,  ami  Nahmanides.  the 
mystic*  Only  a  small  group  fought  against  this  t)(Tsho<it  of 
fear  and  superstition,  among  them  Saadia.  Malmonidcs  and 
his  sthtMil,  Ibn  Kzra,  (iersonltles,  and  Jutia  Ibn  Balag.  To 
Maimonides  the  tiemons  nu-ntloned  In  MIshnah  ami  TalmutI 
are  only  figurative  expressions  for  physical  plagues.  He  con- 
siders the  belief  in  demons  equivalent  tt»  u  belief  in  pagan 
deities.  "Many  pitms  Israelites,"  he  says,*  "believe  in  the 
reality  t)f  dt-mtms  and  witches,  thinking  that  they  should  nt)t 
be  made  the  object  of  worslilp  and  regard,  ftir  the  reason  that 
the  Torah  has  prohibited  it.  But  they  fail  to  see  that  the 
Law  commands  us  to  banish  all  these  things  from  sight,  be- 
ciuse  they  are  but  falsehood  and  deceit,  as  is  the  whole 
idolatr}-  with  which  they  are  intrinsically  ccmnccted." 

''    n    16  a.  •  Dc' (liRanlibus,  j-4. 

'S.f,  I  I, v.  XVr,  8;   Vorna,  67  I). 

'  Sfc  till-  I.thio|iif  ".\ilatn  and  Ksc";  C.  Uc2»l(l,  Die  Hchalzhothlr,  p.  i8j 
conip.  (Ion.  K.  \X\'I. 

'.Set'  I),  (":i»cl :   Cu-,ari.  p.  40?  note. 

'Slitrih  III  .'ir  i?  16  lliti  I'./.r.i  ti)  till)  I.  f}\  coiup.  Finkclschcrcr : 
Muimutiis'  ^Utlutig  zum  Aber^ltuibcn,  i8g4,  p.  4a-si- 


i  M-       ■■ 


it.    I 


SATAN  AND  TIIK  SPIRITS  (H    FAIL 


IQ^ 


6.  TliiH  <Mmnil  view  wn*  iliiutrmiruiiril  by  thr  MiionalUtic 
««hiH)|  in  it'*  timtint  with  the  Ciblnilah,  ami  ha*  rxtrtetj  a 
wholi"»4>mr  irjfluonn-  u|H)n  nuKU-rn  Judai-^m  Thui  Satan  1^ 
rrjcitnl  by  Ji'wish  «|iHirinf,  while  Luthrr  anci  Calvin,  the 
Refoinurs  i)f  the  Chriniian  Churth.  »till  lMlieve«|  in  him. 
Milton'ji  "Parailiv  Lost"  plaiecl  him  in  the  very  foreground 
of  ('hri>»tian  Ixliif,  and  the  hidersof  the  Protestant  ('h'lnhe'*. 
up  to  the  preM-nl,  ateonl  him  a  prominent  pine  in  their 
»t  heme  of  salvation,  an  the  op|Hinent  an«!  eounterjiart  of  (hmI, 
In  his  work  on  Chri-^tian  do^matiis.  I);  \id  Friedru  h  Straus;* 
ubswrves  acutely  :  "The  whole  (Chri^ti.in)  idea  of  the  Messiah 
and  hi'>  kinj^dom  must  netess;»riiy  have  an  its  «(>unter[)art  a 
kingdom  uf  ilenions  with  a  |Mrsorial  ruler  at  its  head  ;  without 
this  it  i-*  no  more  |K)ssible  than  the  north  |M»Ie  of  the  majjnet 
would  be  without  a  south  |>olf.  If  Christ  has  come  to  dc  ,troy 
the  works  of  the  Devil,  there  w«mld  In-  no  need  for  him  to 
come,  unless  there  were  a  Devil.  On  the  other  hand,  if  th«' 
Devil  is  to  Ik-  eonsi<lered  merely  the  person iticat ion  of  evil, 
then  a  Christ  who  w»."jld  be  only  the  per>onituation  of  the 
ideal,  but  not  a  real  pers«>nality.  would  sufTue  equally."  ' 
At  present  Christ' in  theolo^jians  and  even  philosot)hers  have 
recourse  to  Platonic  and  Buddhist  ideas,  that  evil  is  implanted 
in  the  world  from  which  humanity  must  free  itself,  and  they 
thus  present  Christianity  as  the  religion  of  redemption  par 
excellence}  Over  against  this.  Judaism  still  maintains  that 
there  is  no  radical  or  primitive  evil  in  the  world.  Xo  power 
e.xists  which  is  intrinsically  hostile  to  ChkI.  and  from  which 
man  must  be  redeemed.  According  to  the  Jewish  concep- 
tion, the  giKxlness  and  gK)ry  of  (iod  till  both  heaven  and 
earth,  while  holiness  penetrates  a'  of  life,  bringing  matter 
and  flesh  within  the  realm  of  the  di  ine.     Evil  is  but  the  con- 


'  Chriilliihr  GUtuhrnstrhrf,  11,  iS. 

•  f.iki-n,  O    W-ikfkcihgtkaU  d.  Relision,  p.  3S4.  4CJ ;    Bo«ss?t,  Waen  4. 
Ret.,  p.  J39. 


^^/^^ly 


196 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


i*^\- 
% 


I' 

':'   » 

if'' 

in;  " 


trast  of  good,  as  shade  is  but  the  contrast  of  light.  Evil  can 
be  overcome  by  each  individual,  as  he  realizes  his  own  solemn 
duty  and  the  divine  will.  Its  only  existence  is  in  the  field  of 
morality,  where  it  is  a  test  of  man's  freedom  and  power.  Evil 
is  within  man,  and  against  it  he  is  to  wage  the  battles  of  life, 
until  his  victory  signalizes  the  triumph  of  the  divine  in  his 
own  nature.' 

'See  H.  Cohen:  Ethik  des  reinen  Willenx,  282  f.,  341  f.,  428  f.,  503: 
"Kine  Marht  dcs  Bocscn  Ribt  cs  nur  im  .Mythos."  "Diescr  Mythos  fuehrt 
folKcrithti«  zum  mytholo(,'ischen  dottmenschin."  .M.  Joel,  in  his  article, 
"  Der  .Mosaismus  und  das  lliidenthum,"  in  J.  H.  j.  Cisrh.  u.  Lit.,  iqo4,  p.  49- 
66,  ascribes  the  l)eiief  in  demons  to  (Ircek  influence.  He  holds  that  the  pro- 
phetic teaching  of  God's  unity  was  the  best  bulwark  against  demonology  and 
mysticism. 


1!!'  ! 


is 

i   I 


CHAI'TER   XXXII 
God  and  the  Intermediary  Powers 

I.  In  addition  to  the  angels  who  carried  out  God's  will 
in  the  universe,  the  Biblical  and  post-Biblical  literature  recog- 
nizes other  divine  powers  which  mediate  between  Ilim  and 
the  world  of  man.  The  more  a  seer  or  thinker  became  con- 
scious of  the  spirituality  and  transcendency  of  God,  the  more 
he  felt  the  gulf  between  the  infinite  Spirit  and  the  world  of  the 
senses.  In  order  to  bridge  this  gap,  the  Deity  was  replaced  by 
one  of  His  manifestations  which  could  aj)pear  and  act  in  a 
world  circumscribed  by  space  and  time.'  As  we  found  in 
prophecy  the  direct  revelation  of  God  giving  way  to  a  mediat- 
ing angel,  so  either  "the  Glory"  or  ''the  Name"  of  JHVH 
takes  the  place  of  God  himself.  That  is,  instead  of  God's 
own  being,  His  reflected  radiuncc  or  'he  power  invested  in 
His  name  descends  from  on  high.  The  '•abbis  kept  the  direct 
revelation  of  God  for  the  hallowed  past  or  the  desired  future, 
but  at  the  same  time  they  needed  a  suitable  term  for  the 
presence  of  God ;  they  therefore  coined  the  word  Shekinah 
—  "the  divine  Condescension"  or  "Presence"  —  to  be  used 
instead  of  the  Deity  himself.  Thus  the  verse  of  the  Psalm  :  ^ 
"God  standeth  in  the  congregation  of  God,"  is  translated  by 
the  Targum,  "The  divine  Presence  (Shekinah)  resteth  upon 


'See  Dillmann,  1.  c,  341-351;  Weber,  1.  c,  177-iQo;  Bousset,  I.  c,  336, 
346;  Davidson,  I.  c,  36-3S,  115-12Q;  Srhcchtcr,  Aspects,  p.  21-45;  Schmiedl, 
'•  i->  3S-4S;  J-  I'--,  art.  Holy  Spirit;  LoK»s ;  Memra;  Metatron;  Name  of 
God;   Shekinah;    line.  Rcl.  and  Kth.,  I,  308-312. 

»P?  I.XXXII,  I. 

197 


198 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


lib'  u 


^1 


jM  1 


m 


the  congregation  of  the  godly."  Instead  of  the  conclusion  of 
the  speech  to  Moses,  "Let  them  make  Me  a  sanctuary,  that 
I  may  dwell  among  them,"  '  the  Targum  has,  "And  I  shall 
let  My  Presence  {Shckinah)  dwell  among  them."  Thus  in 
the  view  of  the  rabbis  Shckinah  represents  the  visible  part  of 
the  divine  majesty,  which  descends  from  heaven  to  earth, 
and  on  the  radiance  of  which  are  fed  the  spiritual  beings, 
both  angels  and  the  souls  of  the  saints.^  God  himself  was 
wrapped  in  light,  whose  brilliancy  no  living  being,  however 
lofty,  could  endure;  but  the  Shckinah  or  reflection  of  the 
divine  glory  might  be  beheld  by  the  elect  '  .her  in  their  life- 
time or  in  the  hereafter.  In  this  way  the  rabbis  solved  many 
contradictory  passages  of  Scripture,  some  of  which  speak  of 
God  as  invisible,  while  others  describe  man  as  beholding  Him.' 

2.  Just  as  the  references  to  God's  appearing  to  man  sug- 
gested luminous  powers  mediating  the  vision  of  God,  so  the 
passages  which  represent  God  as  speaking  suggest  powers 
mediating  the  voice.  Hence  arose  the  conception  of  the 
divine  Word,  invested  with  divine  powers  both  physical  and 
spiritual.  The  first  act  of  God  in  the  Bible  is  that  He  spoke, 
and  by  this  word  the  world  came  into  being.  The  Word  was 
thus  conceived  of  as  the  first  created  being,  an  intermediary 
power  between  the  Spirit  of  the  world  and  the  created  world 
order.  The  word  of  God,  important  in  the  cosmic  order,  is 
still  more  so  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  worlds.  The  Word 
is  at  times  a  synonym  of  divine  revelation  to  the  men  of  the 
early  generations  or  to  Israel,  the  bearer  of  the  Law.  Hence 
the  older  Haggadah  plares  beside  the  Shekinah  the  divine 
Wor(/ (Hebrew,  A/ac war;  Aramaic,  Me wra;  Greek,  Z,ogo5)  as 
the  intermediary  force  of  rvvelation. 

Contact  with  the  Platonic  and  Stoic  philosophies  led 
gradually  to  a  new  development  which  appears  in  Philo.    The 

'  T.x,  XXV.  8,  'Ber.  17  a. 

»  See  Ber.,  1.  c,  Rab's  reference  to  Ex.  XXIV,  11. 


GOD  AND  THE  INTERMEDIARY   POWERS 


199 


Word  or  Logos  becomes  "  the  first-created  Son  of  God,"  having 
a  personality  independent  from  God ;  in  fact  he  is  a  kind  of 
vice  regent  of  God  nimself.  From  this  it  was  but  a  short  step 
toward  considering  him  a  partner  and  peer  of  the  Almighty, 
as  was  done  by  the  Church  with  its  doctrine  that  the  Word 
became  flesh  in  Christ,  the  son  of  God.'  In  view  of  this  the 
rabbinical  schools  gave  up  the  idea  of  the  personified  Word, 
replacing  it  with  the  Tonih  or  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  older 
term  was  retained  only  in  liturgical  formulas,  such  as :  "Who 
created  the  heavens  by  His  Word."  or,  "Who  by  His  Word 
created  the  twilight  and  by  Wisdom  openeth  the  gates  of 
heaven."  ^ 

3.  As  has  been  shown  above,'  Wisdom  is  described  in  the 
Bible  as  the  first  of  all  created  beings,  the  assistant  and  coun- 
selor of  God  in  the  work  of  creation.  Then  we  see  that  Ben 
Sira  ident"  Wisdom  with  the  Torah."  Thus  the  Torah, 
too,  was  raised  to  a  cosmic  power,  the  sum  and  substance  of 
all  wisdom.  In  fact,  the  Torah,  like  the  Logos  of  Plato,  was 
regarded  as  comprising  the  ideas  or  prototypes  of  all  things 
as  in  a  universal  plan.  The  Torah  is  the  divine  pattern  for 
the  world.  In  such  a  connection  Torah  is  far  from  meaning 
the  Law,  as  Weber  asserts.^  It  means  rather  the  heavenly 
bvjk  of  '.nstruction  which  contains  all  the  wisdom  of  the  ages, 
a:.d  which  God  himself  used  as  guide  at  the  Creation.  God  is 
depicted  as  an  architect  with  His  plan  drafted  before  He  began 
the  erection  of  the  edifice,  —  a  conception  which  avoids  all 
danger  of  deifying  the  Logos. 

4.  Several  other  conceptions,  however,  do  not  belong  at  all 
to  the  intermediary  powers,  where  Weber  places  them.^  This 
applies  to  Mdatron   (identical  with   the  Persian   Mithras),^ 

•  John  I,  1-6.  '  Singer's  Praycrbook,  p.  96,  292. 

»  Ch.  XXII.     See  Prov.  VIII,  22.  '  XXIV,  9  f. 

•Weber,  I.e.,  197  f-  '  I^- '^•'  '"^  ^• 

"Sec   Kohut :   Jucd.    Ar.gclijisgic,   36— j3;    Schorr:    He   Ha.utz,   VIII,   3; 
J.  E.,  art.  Merkabah. 


4 

Y  'I 


200 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


B  .■* ;  ;i 


whom  the  mystic  lore  culls  the  charioteer  of  the  heavenly 
throne-chariot,  represented  by  the  rabbis  as  the  highest  of 
the  angels,  leader  of  the  heavenly  host>.  and  vice-regent  of 
God.  That  no  cosmic  power  was  ascribed  to  him  is  proved 
by  the  very  fact  of  his  identification  with  Enoch,  whom  the 
pre-Talmudic  Haggadah  describes  as  taken  up  into  heaven 
and  changed  into  an  angel  of  the  highest  rank,  standing  near 
God's  throne.' 

5.  The  only  real  mediator  between  God  and  man  is  the 
Spirit  of  God,  which  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  both 
the  creation  and  divine  revelation.  In  the  fust  chapter  of 
Genesis  the  Spirit  of  God  is  described  as  hovering  over  the 
gloom  of  chaos  like  the  motii^r  bird  over  the  egg,  ready  to 
hatch  out  the  nascent  world.'  God  breathed  His  spirit  into 
the  body  of  man,  to  make  him  also  god-like.'  The  prophet 
likewise  is  inspired  by  the  spirit  of  God  to  see  visions  and  to 
hear  the  divine  message.*  Thus  the  spirit  of  God  has  two 
aspects ;  it  *s  the  cosmic  principle  which  imbues  primal 
matter  with  life ;  it  is  a  link  between  the  soul  of  man  and  God 
on  high.  The  view  of  Ezekiel  was  but  one  step  from  this,  to 
conceive  the  spirit  as  a  personal  being,  and  place  him  beside 
God  as  an  angel. 

The  prophets  and  psalmists,  feeling  the  spirit  of  God  upon 
them,  considered  it  an  emanation  of  the  Deity.  Still,  a  pro- 
founder  insight  soon  disapproved  the  severance  of  the  Spirit 
»)f  God  from  God  himself,  as  if  He  were  not  altogether  spirit. 
Therefore  the  accepted  term  came  to  he  the  Holy  Spirit.'" 
In  this  form,  however,  his  personality  oecame  more  distinct 
and  his  separate  existence  more  defined.     Henceforth  he  is 

•  See  TarR.  Ver.  to  Gen.  V,  24;  J.  E.,  art.  Metatron.  Comp.  Eth.  Enoch 
LXX,  1,  and  Slav.  Enoch  III-XXIV. 

'  Gen.  I,  2.  >  Gen.  II,  7  ;   VI,  3  ;  Job  XXXII,  8. 

«Num.  XI,  17  f.;  XXIV,  2;  XXVII,  18;  Ex.  XXVIII,  3;  XXXI,  3  i.\ 
Isa.  X],  2  ;   LXI,  i ,   C^ck.  I,  i.^,  20. 

'I*...  LXIII,  10;   Ps.  Li,  13. 


(}0D  AND  THE  INTERMEDIARY   TOWERS 


20 1 


the  messenger  of  God,  performing  miracles  or  causing  them, 
fipeaking  in  the  place  of  God,  or  defending  His  people  Israel. 
Nay,  more,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  supposed  »  have  dictated  the 
words  of  Scrij)ture  to  the  sacred  writers,  and  to  have  inspired 
the  Men  of  the  Great  Synagogue  in  collecting  the  sacred 
writings  into  a  canon.' 

Moreover,  the  workings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  continued  long 
rafter  the  completion  of  the  Biblical  canon.  All  the  chief 
institutions  of  the  Synagogue  originally  claimed  that  they 
were  prompted  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  resting  upon  the  leaders  of 
the  community.  This  claim  was  basic  to  the  authority  of 
tradition  and  the  continuity  of  the  authority  of  Jewish 
lore.  It  seems,  however,  that  certain  abuses  were  caused  by 
miracle-workers  who  disseminated  false  doctrines  under  the 
alleged  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Therefore  the  rabbis 
restricted  such  claims  to  ancient  times  and  insisted  more 
strongly  than  ever  upon  the  preservation  of  the  traditional 
lore.  For  a  time  a  substitute  was  found  in  the  Bath  Kol 
("Echo"  or  "Whisper  of  a  heavenly  voice"),  but  this  also 
was  soon  discredited  by  the  schools.-  Obviously  the  rabbis 
desired  to  avert  the  deification  of  either  the  Holy  Spirit  or 
the  Word.  Sound  common  sense  was  their  norm  for  inter- 
preting the  truth  of  the  divine  revelation.  In  other  words, 
they  relied  on  God  alone  as  the  living  force  in  the  development 
of  Judaism. 

6.  But  some  sort  of  mediation  was  ascribed  ♦'^  several 
other  spiritual  forces.  First,  the  Name  of  God  often  takes 
the  place  of  God  himself.'  When  the  name  of  the  Deity  was 
called  over  some  hallowed  spot,  the  worshipers  felt  that  the 
presence  of  God  also  was  bound  up  with  the  sacred  place.'' 


>  See  J.  E.,  art.  Holy  Spirit.  '  See  J.  E.  art.,  Bath  Kol. 

'  See  Tos.  Sota  XIII,  2  ;  XXLV,  1 1 ;  compart   Levy  :  \V.  B.,  Shem;  Geiger : 

*  Deut.  XII,  5,  II ;   II  Sam.  XII,  28;  Xeh.  I,  9;  Jer.  VII,  12,  14. 


302 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


r 


m 


"      1 


I, 

I  ! 


I 


4;  1 


"My  name  is  in  him,"  says  God  of  the  angel  whom  He  sends 
to  lead  the  people.'  The  invocation  of  the  name  was  believed 
to  have  an  actual  influence  upon  the  Deity.  Furthermore, 
since  God  is  frequently  represented  as  swearing  by  His  own 
name,'  this  ineffable  name  was  invested  with  magic  powers, 
as  if  God  himself  dwelt  therein.'  Thus  it  came  to  be  used 
as  a  talisman  by  the  pojmlar  saints.*  Indeed,  God  is  de- 
scribed as  conjuring  the  depths  of  the  abyss  by  His  holy 
name,  lest  they  overflow  their  boundaries.'  Moreover,  the 
Name,  like  the  Word,  or  Logos,  was  regarded  as  a  creative 
power,  so  that  we  are  told  that  before  the  world  was  created 
there  were  only  God  and  His  holy  Name.*  Owing  to  the 
introduction  of  Adonai  (the  Lord)  for  JHVH,  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  the  Name  fell  into  oblivion  and  the  Name  itself  be- 
came a  mystery ;  therefore  its  cosmic  element  also  was  lost 
and  it  dropped  into  the  sphere  of  mystic  and  philosophical 
speculation. 

7.  Another  attribute  of  God  which  received  some  attention, 
owing  to  the  frequent  mention  of  the  omnipotence  of  God  in 
the  Bible,  was /la  GV/'/zraA  (the  Power).  A  familiar  rabbinic 
expression  is :  "We  have  heard  from  the  mouth  of  the  Power," 
that  is,  from  the  divine  omnipotence.^  Two  fundamental 
principles  were  '•arly  perceived  in  the  moral  order  of  the 
world:  the  punitive  justice  and  compassion  of  God.  These 
were  taken  as  the  meanings  of  the  two  most  common  Biblical 
names  of  God,  J II VII  and  Eloliim.  Elohim,  being  occasion- 
ally used  in  dispensing  justice,**  was  thought  to  signify  God 
in  His  capacity  as  Judge  of  the  whole  earth,  and  hence  as  the 
divine  Justice.  JHVH,  on  the  other  hand,  meant  the  divine 
mercy,  as  it  was  used  in  the  revelation  of  the  long-suffering 


'  E...  XXIII,  21.  »  Jer.  XLIV,  26;   Isa.  XLV,  23. 

«  Midr.  Teh.  to  Ps.  XXXVIII,  8 ;  XCI,  8.                    *  Taan.  Ill,  8. 

*  Pra>xr  of  Manasscs,  3.  *  P.  d.  R.  Ei.  III. 

'  See  Levy :  W.  B.,  Geburah.  »  Ex.  XXI,  6. 


GOD   AM)  THE   INTERMEDIARY   POWERS  203 

and  merciful  God  to  Moses  after  the  sin  of  Israel  before  the 
golden  calf  Thus  both  the  rabbis  and  Philo- often  speak  of 
these  two  attributes,  justice  and  men  \ ,  as  though  they  consti- 
tuted independent  l)einns.  di-liberating  with  God  as  to  what  He 
should  do.  The  Midrash  tells  in  a  parable  how  before  the 
creation  of  man.  Justice.  Mercy,  Truth,  and  Peace  were  called 
in  by  G(k1  as  His  counselors  to  deliberate  whether  or  no  man 
should  be  created.^ 

8.  One  Hagj^'adah  concludes  from  the  passage  about  Crea- 
tion in  Proverbs,  that  there  are  three  cre.itive  powers,  Wis- 
dom, Understanding,  an<l  Knowledge.''  Another  derives  from 
Scripture  seven  creative  principles  :  Knowledge.  Understand- 
ing, Might,  Grace  and  Mercy,  Justice  and  Rebuke ;  *  and 
seven  attributes  whi(  h  do  service  before  God's  throne:  Wis- 
dom, Judgment  and  Justice,  Cirace  and  Mercy.  Truth  and 
Peace.'  By  combining  these  lists  of  three  and  seven  this  was 
finally  enlarged  to  ten.  which  became  the  basis  for  the  entire 
mystic  lore.  Thus  the  Babylonian  master  Ralj  enumerates 
ten  creative  principles:  Wisdom,  Understanding,  and  Knowl- 
edge, Might  and  Power.  Rebuke,  Justice  and  Righteousness, 
Love  and  Mercy. ^  It  is  hard  to  say  whether  the  ten  attri- 
butes of  the  Haggadah  are  at  all  connected  with  the  ten  Sefiroth 
(cosmic  forces  or  circles)  of  the  Cabbalah.  These  last  are 
hardly  the  creation  of  pure  monotheism,  but  rather  emanations 
from  the  infmitc ,  conceived  after  the  pattern  of  heathen  ideas.' 

g.  The  assumption  of  all  these  intermediaries  aimed 
chiefly  to  spiritualize  the  conception  of  God  and  to  elevate 


»  Ex.  XXXIV,  s  f- 

«  Gen.  R.  XXI,  8 :  TarR.  Ps.  I.VI,  1 1,  an<l  xc  SicRfried  :  Philo,  213  f. 
'OL-n.  R.  VIII.  5.  after  Ps.  I.XXXV,  11-12. 
«  P.  d.  R.  Kl.  HI ;   MiHr.  Teh.  P...  L.  ',  rcf.  to  Prnv.  III.  19-20. 
«  A.  d.  R.  N.  XXXVII,  ref.  to  Prov.  Ill,  rg  f. ;   Ps.  LXV.  7 ;  LXXXV,  21- 
22;  Job  XXVII.  II. 

•  Kef.  to  itiMM  il,  2i-ii.  '■  Hag.  12  a. 

•  See  J.  E.,  art.  Sefiroth,  the  Ten ;  Yezir.ah,  Sefer. 


304 


J K WISH  THKor-or.Y 


nip 


!Iim  above  all  child  like,  anthrofKimorphic  views,  so  that  He 
becomes  a  free  Mind  ruling  the  whole  universe.  At  the  same 
time,  it  became  natural  to  ascribe  material  substance  to  these 
intermediaries.  As  they  liiled  the  chasm  between  the  su|>er- 
mundane  Deity  and  the  world  of  the  senses,  they  had  to 
share  the  nature  of  both  matter  and  mind.  Hence  the 
Shekinah  and  the  Holy  Spirit  are  describe<l  by  both  the  rabbis 
and  the  medieval  philosophers  as  a  line,  luminou.s,  or  ethereal 
substance.'  The  entire  ancient  and  medieval  systems  were 
modeled  after  the  idea  of  a  ladder  leading  up,  step  l)y  step, 
from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  sphere;  GimI,  the  Most  High, 
being  at  the  same  time  above  the  highest  rung  of  the  ladder 
and  yet  also  a  part  of  the  whole. 

lo.  Our  modern  system  of  thought  holds  the  relation  of 
God  to  nature  and  man  to  be  quite  different  from  all  this. 
To  our  mind  God  is  the  only  moral  and  spiritual  power  of  life. 
He  is  mirrored  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  as  well  as  intel- 
lectual nature  of  man,  and  therefore  is  near  to  the  human 
conscience,  owing  to  the  divine  forces  within  man  himself. 
Not  the  world  without,  but  the  world  within  leads  us  to  God 
and  tells  us  what  God  is.  Hence  we  need  no  intermediary 
beings,  and  they  all  evaporate  before  our  mental  horizon  like 
mist,  pictures  of  the  imagination  without  objective  reality. 
Ihn  P>>ra  says  in  the  introduction  to  his  commentary  on  the 
liible  that  the  human  reason  is  the  true  intermediating  angel 
between  God  and  man,  and  we  hold  this  to  be  true  of  both 
the  intellect  and  the  conscience.  For  the  theologian  and  the 
student  of  religion  to-day  the  center  of  gravity  of  religion  is 
to  be  sought  in  psycholo  ;y  and  anthropology.  In  all  his 
upward  striving,  his  eravit.g  and  yearning  for  the  highest  and 
the  best,  in  his  lofliest  aspirations  and  ifleals,  man,  like  Isaiah 
the  prophet,  can  behold  only  the  hem  of  God's  garment;  he 
seeks  God  above  him,  ber.T.iiAe  he  frH=.  Him  v-''?hin  himself. 
'  Sec  J.  K.,  art.  Shekinah ;  Cuzarl,  II,  4 ;  IV,  3. 


IH 


GOD  AND  THE  INTF.RMKDIARY   I»C)VVKRS  J05 

He  must  pass,  however,  through  the  various  staRes  of  growth, 
until  his  self-kmr.vliilKe  ieails  to  the  knowlcdm-  of  the  (lod 
before  whom  he  kneels  in  awe.  Then  linally  he  feels  Ilim 
us  his  Father,  his  Kdueator  in  the  s<  hool  of  life,  the  Master 
of  the  universal  plan  in  whii  h  the  individual  alM»  has  a  plate 
in  building  up  the  divine  kingdom  of  truth,  ju>ti(  e.  and  holi- 
ness on  earth.  For  renturies  he  j?roped  for  (lo<l,  until  he 
received  a  Book  to  serve  as  "a  lamp  to  his  feet  and  a  li>,'ht  to 
his  path,"  to  interpret  to  him  his  lonKinp;  and  his  (raving. 
Israel's  Hook  of  liooks  must  ever  be  re  read  and  re  interpreted 
by  Israel,  the  keei)er  of  the  book,  through  a^es  yet  to  come. 
Well  may  we  say:  the  mediator  between  (lo<l  and  the  world 
is  man,  the  son  of  Ciod  ;  the  mediator  between  God  ami 
humanity  is  Israel,  the  people  of  God. 


■fir 
•I 

ill-? 


PART    II.     MAN 


."I 


r 


hi    • 

-r.    I 


:J 


<  ,  .-.  VST.  K 


Is 

■  f 

I  ^ 


«    I 


CHAPTKR  XXXni 

Man's  Place  in  Creation 

1.  The  (ItK trine  conccrninK  man  is  inseparably  connected 
with  that  about  (lod.  Heathenism  formed  its  deities  after 
the  image  of  man  ;  they  were  merely  human  beings  of  a  hirger 
growth.  Judaism,  on  the  contrary,  asserts  that  G(k1  Is 
beyond  comparison  with  mankind;  lie  is  a  purely  spiritual 
being  without  form  or  image,  and  therefore  utterly  unlike 
man.  On  the  other  hand,  man  has  a  divine  nature,  as  he 
was  made  in  the  image  of  Go<l.  fashi.  d  after  His  likeness. 
The  highest  and  ileepest  in  man.  his  mental,  moral,  and  si)iritual 
life,  is  the  reflection  of  the  divine  nature  implanted  within 
him,  a  force  capable  of  ever  greater  development  toward 
perfection.  This  unicjue  dir.tinction  among  all  creatures  gives 
man  the  highest  place  in  all  creation. 

2.  The  superiority  of  the  human  race  is  expressed  differently 
in  various  passages  in  Scripture.  .According  to  the  first  chap- 
ter of  Genesis  the  whole  work  of  creation  fmds  its  culmina- 
tion in  man,  whose  making  is  introduced  by  a  solemn  appeal 
of  God  to  the  hosts  of  heaven :  "  Let  us  make  man  in  our 
image,  after  our  likeness."  '  This  declaration  proclaimed 
that  man  was  the  completion  and  the  climax  of  the  physical 
creation,  as  well  as  the  beginning  of  a  new  order  of  creation, 

'  Gen.  I,  20,  and  the  commentaries. 
2o6 


MAN'S  PLACE   IN   CRFATION 


J07 


a  world  of  moral  alms  and  pur|xm'H.  of  self  |MTfoit ion  and  self 
control.     It\  the  world  of  man  all  life  in  phunl  at  the  service 
of  a  higher  ideal,  after  the  <livine  pattern 

The  sentnd  ihapter  of  (ieru'siH  depiitn  man's  creation 
differently  Here  he  ap|H'ars  as  the  first  of  created  beings, 
leading  a  life  of  jK-rfect  inn<Men«e  in  the  garcU-n  of  divine  hiiss. 
Before  him  ('hh\  brings  all  the  newly  created  iM-ings  that  he 
may  give  them  a  name  and  a  puriH)se.  Hut  the  Serpent  enters 
l'aradi>e  as  tempter,  tasting  the  seed  of  discord  into  the 
hearts  of  the  m:n  and  the  woman.  A-.  tluy  |)rove  tiM)  feeble 
to  resist  temptation,  they  can  no  longer  remain  in  the  heavenly 
garden  in  their  former  happy  state.  Only  the  memory  of 
F*aradise  remains,  a  golden  dream  to  cast  hope  over  the  life 
of  struggle  and  labor  into  which  they  enter  The  idea  of  the 
legend  is  that  man's  proper  place  is  not  among  beings  of 
the  earth,  but  he  ran  reach  his  U)fty  destiny  only  by  arduous 
struggle  with  the  w»)rld  of  the  senses  and  a  constant  striving 
toward  the  divine.  The  same  idea  is  e.xpressetl  more  directly 
in  the  eighth  Psalm  : 

"  What  is  man,  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him? 
And  ihc  son  of  man,  that  Thou  thinkcst  «)f  him? 
Yet  Thou  hast  made  him  but  little  lower  than  the  Rodiy  bcinR-  (Elohim) 
And  hast  crowned  him  with  glory  and  honor. 

Thou  madest  him  to  have  dominion  over  the  works  of  Thy  hands ; 
Thou  hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet." 

.V  According  to  the  Haggadists,'  before  the  fall  man  ex- 
celled even  the  angels  in  appearance  and  wisdotn,  so  that 
they  were  ready  to  prostrate  themselves  before  him.  Only 
when  God  caused  a  deep  sleep  to  fall  upon  man.  they  recog- 
nized his  frailty  and  kinship  with  other  beings  of  the  earth. 
The  idea  expressed  in  this  legend  resembles  the  one  implied 
in  the  legend  of  Paradise,  viz.  man  has  a  twofold  nature. 
With  his  heavenlv  snirit    he  can  soar  freelv  to  the  hiehest 

'  Gen.  R.  VIII,  9. 


)oM 


t 

'If 


JKWISH  THKn|,iK;Y 


I 


4'  *f: 


i 


Ml       I 


p;  ^ 


ill' 


i' ! 


realm  of  thought,  alK»vt*  the  j^tation  <»(  Ihi*  an^eU;  yet  hi* 
tnuthly  franu-  holHn  him  I'vor  tuar  the  jIu-^I.  It  U  thU  very 
«<»ntriWl  thai  <t»n«iiiiutt"*  hi>«  Rrcatnt"*'*,  f«)r  it  makf%  him  a 
( ili/cn  «»f  two  worhiii,  i»nr  iM-rishahlo,  the  other  c'lt-rnal.  He  is 
thf  hi);h(->l  rt'Mill  of  Crralion.  the  pritU*  of  the  Creator,' 
ThuH  he  w.c^  a|i|Hiii)leii  titMl's  vi<e  rr^ent  on  earth  by  the 
wuriln  <«|Hiken  I  he  hrst  man  and  woman:  "  Hr  fruitful, 
ami  multiply.  an<i  replrni^h  the  earth,  ami  Hulwlue  it  ;  ami 
have  <lominion  over  the  (i-^h  of  the  sea.  arnl  over  the  fowl  of 
the  air,  an«l  over  every  living  thinjj  that  «ree|H-th  u|K)n  the 
earth  "*  The  rabbis  aihl  a  striking  romment  u|H»n  the  w»»r<l 
K'dti,  which  is  u-^ed  here  for  "have  tlominion"  but  which  may 
also  mean,  "ro  down."  They  say:  "The  thoiie  is  left  in 
man's  own  hand  If  you  maintain  your  heaven-lxirn  dignity, 
you  will  have  d«tminion  «)ver  all  things,  if  not,  you  will  lic- 
seend  to  the  level   )f  the  brute  creation."  ^ 

4  An  ancient  Mishnah  <lerives  a  signilicant  lesson  from 
the  Htt)ry  of  the  creation  of  man*:  "Hoth  the  vegetable  ami 
animal  wor!'I;  n  cmvjIi'I  in  multitudt-s.  Man  alone  wan 
created  as  a  single  individual  in  onler  that  he  may  reaii/c 
that  he  constitutes  a  world  in  himself,  and  carries  within 
him  the  true  value  of  life.  Hence  i-ach  human  being  is  en- 
titled to  say:  'The  whole  world  was  <  reate<l  for  my  sake.' 
He  who  saves  a  single  human  life  is  as  one  who  saves  a  whole 
world,  and  he  who  destroys  a  single  human  life  is  as  one 
who  destroys  a  whole  world." 

5  While  it  is  man's  spiritual  side  which  is  the  image  of 
God,  yet  he  ikrives  all  his  powers  and  faculties  from  earthly 
life,  just  as  a  tree  draws  its  strength  from  the  soil  in  which  it 
i>  rooted.     Judaism  does  not  consider  the  soul  the  exclusive 

'  (itn    K.  .\l\',  I.  Hkn.  I,  jS. 

Unn.  k   VIII,  .>;    IV  (i.  R    II,  XI. 

*  Sanh.  IV,  ^,  (orrcrtly  prcst-rvfi!  in  the  Vcrush.iltiii,  anil  the  .Kldition  in 
iiiv-  iidiiii,  .Uf  I  iirati,  uugtil  iioi  Uj  Lave  bccu  iii^ciiiii  by  ^ciiiiiucr,  Au.  d. 
K.  X.,  p.  yo. 


El  > 


W^ 


MANN    I'l.AO    IN    (KI.AIION 


K)Q 


M*at  o(  Ihr  clivinr,  an  i»|i|mim«I  to  the  lM>«ly      In  fact,  Juitaiiim 


(Iniil 


adinilH  no  tornplctr  «lu.iii!»m  ol  -^iiint  ami  maittr,  h«twcvrr 
strikitiK  sonu-  a^jH't  ts  of  thrir  tontr.ist  may  In*  The  whole 
human  iHTMtnaUly  is  divino,  ju«»t  so  far  an  it  aNM-rl."*  it»  frcc- 
«lon»  an«l  moliK  Its  m«»tivi-s  toward  a  <li\in»-  t-ml  In  rciog- 
niliun  of  thi>  fat  t  HilUI  tlainuil  rcvircnu-  for  thi-  human 
ImmIv  a>*  wtll  as  miiitl,  tomparinj?  it  to  ihr  homag.  rrrultrrd 
to  thf  xtatuo  of  a  kinj,',  for  man  is  ma«l«'  in  thr  imanc  ot  (i«Ml, 
thr  kinj?  ol  all  thf  worl<l  '  Thu^  the  (inik  iilia  that  man  is  u 
muriHu^m,  a  \vorl«l  in  miniature,  ri'nntini»  the  tosmos  on  a 
smaller  Male,  was  expressed  in  the  Tannaitit  m  hools  as  well* 
The  stamp  of  divinity  i  borne  by  man  in  his  entire  heaven- 
uspirinj;  nature,  a>^  he  st lives  to  elevate  the  very  realm  of  the 
senses  into  the  sphere  of  morality  an<l  holitiesH. 

0.  in  this  respeit  the  Jewish  vitw  parts  from  that  of  Plato 
and  the  llimlu  philosophers.  These  divide  man  into  a  pure 
celestial  soul  and  an  im|)ure  earthly  InKly  and  hold  that  the 
physical  life  is  tainted  by  sin,  while  the  spirit  is  divine  only 
in  so  far  as  it  frees  itself  frt-  n  its  prison  h(»UM'  of  lU-^h.  Ju- 
d.o'  m,  on  the  other  h;'nc|,  emphasizes  the  unilie«l  tharaiter 
of  man,  by  whiih  he  can  bend  all  his  f.nulties  and  functions 
to  a  godlike  mastery  over  the  material  \v«»rld.  Thi«.  appears 
tirst  in  his  upright  [x^sture  and  heavenward  glance,  which 
proclaim  him  master  over  the  wht)le  animal  world  cowering 
before  him  in  lowly  dread.  His  whole  bo> ..ly  >tructure  cor- 
responds to  this,  with  its  constant  growth,  its  wondrous 
symmetry,  and  the  unique  flexibility  of  the  hands,  with  which 
he  can  perform  ever  new  and  greater  achievements.  Above 
all,  we  see  the  nubility  of  man  in  his  high  forehead  and  reied- 
ing  jaw,  which  contrast  >■>  .slrikitigly  with  the  structure  of 
most  animals  and  even  with  many  of  the  lower  races.  Indeed, 
primitive  man  could  i  an  ely  imagine  a  nobler  pattern  by 
w'hich  lu  model  his  <U:.  y  lh;in  the  titnire  of  a  man. 

'  Lev.  R.  XXXI\  ,  J.  '  .\b  d.  K.  \  XXXI 


m  < 

14 


'i* 


m 


II  i ' 


3IO 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


7.  In  fact,  the  Biblical  verse,  "God  created  man  after  the 
image  of  the  divine  beings"  {clo/iim),  was  originally  taken 
literally,  in  the  sense  that  angels  j)osed  as  models  for  tlv 
creation  of  man.'  The  phrase  was  referred  ti»  the  spiri.  i.u, 
god-like  nature  of  man  only  when  the  ditTerence  bet'cf.) 
material  and  spiritual  thing?  became  better  understood,  u  .! 
man  obtained  a  clearer  knowledge  of  himself.  Man  grew  to 
feel  that  his  craving  for  the  perfect,  whether  in  the  field  of 
truth  and  right,  or  of  beauty,  is  the  force  which  lift^-  him,  in 
spite  of  all  his  limitations,  into  the  realm  of  the  divine.  His 
soaring  imaginatio'^  and  ceaseless  longing  for  jjcrfection  disclose 
before  his  eyes  a  partial  vista  of  the  inlinite.  The  human 
spirit  carries  mortal  man  above  the  confines  of  time  and  space 
into  those  boundless  realms  where  God  resides  in  lonel)- 
majesty.^ 

Man  did  not  emanate  perfect  from  the  hand  of  the  Creator, 
but  ready  f c  r  an  ever  greater  perfection.  Being  the  last  of 
all  created  beings,  as  the  Midrash  says,  he  can  be  put  to 
shame  by  the  smallest  insect,  which  is  prior  to  him.  Yet 
before  the  beginning  of  creation  a  light  shone  upon  his  spirit 
that  has  illumined  his  achievements  through  untold  genera- 
tions.' 

8.  The  resemblance  of  man  to  God  is  attributed  also  to 
his  free  will  and  self-consciousness,  by  which  he  claims  moral 
dignity  and  mastery  over  all  things.*  Still,  all  these  superior 
qualities  which  we  call  human  are  not  ready-made  endow- 
ments, free  gifts  bestowed  by  God ;    they  are  simply  poten- 

'  See  Jubilees  XV,  27 ;  comp.  Gen.  R.  VIII,  7-9 ;  .Ab.  d.  R.  N.,  ed.  Schechter, 
P-  153- 

'  See  Jelhnek  :  Bezelem  Elohim;  Phili|)pson,  1.  c,  II,  58-72 ;  Dilimann,  I.  c, 
325.  The  words  of  Plato  (State,  X,  613,  and  Tlualctos,  176),  "Man  should 
strive  tor  God-likeness  through  virtue,  and  be  holy,  righteous  and  wise  like  the 
Deity,"  may  hr-ve  influenced  the  ethical  interpretation  of  the  Biblical  term 

'Gen.  R,  ,1. 

*  Sec  Gen  .0 ;  Comni.  of  Rashi,  Saadia,  Ibn  Ezra,  Nahmanides,  and  Ob. 
Sfornn. 


\ : ; 


MAN'S   I'LACK   IN   CRKATIOX 


211 


tialities  which  may  be  Kriulually  dintlopod.  Man  must 
strive  to  attain  the  place  tlestined  for  him  in  the  scheme  of 
creation  by  the  exertion  of  his  i)\vn  will  and  the  unfolding  of 
the  powers  that  lie  with'n  him.  The  impulse  toward  self- 
perfection,  which  is  con>tantly  stimulated  by  the  desire  to 
overcome  obstacles  and  to  extend  one's  power,  knowledge, 
and  possessions,  forms  the  kernel  of  the  divine  in  man.  This 
is  the  "spirit  in  man,  and  the  breath  of  the  Ahnighty.  that 
giveth  them  understan<ling."  '  Thus  the  teaching  of  modern 
science,  of  the  gradual  ascent  of  man  through  all  the  stages 
of  animal  life.  <loes  not  impair  the  lofty  position  in  creation 
which  Judaism  has  assigned  him.  Plant  and  animal  are  what 
they  have  always  been,  children  of  the  earth;  man  with  his 
heaven-aspiring  soul  is  the  image  of  his  Creator,  a  child  of 
God.  Giver  of  name  and  purpo.-;e  to  all  things  about  him, 
he  ranks  above  the  angels ;  he  "marches  on  while  all  the  rest 
stand  still."  - 

'  Job  XXXII,  8.  '  Zach.  Ill,  7  ;  see  coram. 


rr  ■• 

v.. 


iiii' 


i 


Hi 

I  i 

'h'   I 


r 


i 


.=ii  ! 


'      \ 


:)|-t 


CHAPTKR   XXXIV 
The  Dual  Nature  of  Man 

1.  According  to  Jewish  doctrines,  man  is  formed  by  a 
union  of  two  natures:  the  flesh,  which  he  shares  with  all  the 
animals,  and  the  spirit,  which  renders  him  a  child  of  God. 
The  former  is  rooted  in  the  earth  and  is  earthward  bent ;  the 
latter  is  a  "breath  from  God"  and  strives  to  unfold  the  divine 
in  man  until  he  attains  the  divine  image  This  discord  brings 
a  tremendous  internal  conflict,  leading  from  one  historic 
stage  to  another,  achieving  ever  higher  things,  intellectual, 
moral,  and  spiritual,  until  at  last  the  whole  earth  is  to  be  a 
divine  kingdom.,  the  dwelling-place  of  truth,  goodness,  and 
holiness. 

2.  According  to  the  Biblical  view  man  consists  of  flesh 
(basar)  and  spirit  {ruah).  The  term  flesh  is  used  im- 
partially of  all  animals,  hence  the  Biblical  term  "all  flesh"  ' 
includes  both  man  and  beast.  The  body  becomes  a  living 
being  by  being  penetrated  with  the  "breath  of  life"  (ruah 
hayim),  at  whose  departure  the  living  body  turns  at  once  into 
a  lifeless  clod.  This  breath  of  life  is  possessed  by  the  animal 
as  well  as  by  man,  as  both  of  them  breathe  the  air.  Hence 
in  ancient  tongues  " breath  "  and  "soul "  are  used  as  synonyms, 
as  the  Hebrew  nefesh  and  neshamah,  the  Latin  anima  and 
spirihis,  the  Greek  pncuma  and  psyche.  A  different  primitive 
belief  connected  the  soul  with  the  blood,  noting  that  man  or 
beast  dies  when  the  hot  life-blood  flows  out  of  the  body,  so 
that  we  read  in  the  Bible,  "the  blood  is  the  soul."  ^    In  this 

'  Gen.  VI,  12,  10.  «  Gen.  IX,  21 ;  Lev.  XVII,  11,  14. 

213 


THE  DUAI    NATURE  OF   MAN 


21.^ 


the  soul  is  identified  with  the  life,  while  the  word  riiah,  de- 
noting the  moving  force  of  the  air.  is  used  more  in  the  sen:,e 
of  spirit  or  soul  as  distinct  from  the    ody. 

Thus  both  man  and  beaU  possess  a  soul,  ttefesh.  The  soul 
of  man  is  merely  distinguished  by  its  richer  endowment,  its 
manifold  faculties  by  which  it  is  enabled  to  move  forward  to 
higher  things.  Thus  the  animal  soul  is  bound  for  all  time  to 
its  destined  place,  while  the  divine  spirit  in  man  makes  him 
a  free  creative  personality,  self-omscious  and  god-like.  For 
this  reason  the  creation  of  man  forms  a  special  act  in  the 
account  in  Genesis.  Both  the  plant  and  animal  worlds  rose 
at  God's  bidding  from  the  soil  of  mother  earth,  and  the  soul 
of  the  animal  5s  limited  in  origin  and  goal  by  the  earthly 
sphere.  The  creation  of  man  inaugurates  a  new  world.  God 
is  described  as  forming  the  body  of  man  from  the  dust  of  the 
earth  and  then  breathing  His  spirit  into  the  lifeless  frame, 
endowing  it  with  both  life  and  personality.  The  whole  man, 
both  body  and  soul,  has  thus  the  potentiality  of  a  higher  and 
nobler  life. 

3.   Accordingly   -icripiarc  does  not  have  a  thorough-going 
dualism,  of  a     arnal  nature  which  is  sinful  and  a  spiritual 
nature  which  is  pure.     We  are  not  told  that  man  is  -omposed 
of  an  impure  earthly  body  and  a  pure  heavenly  soul,  but  in- 
stead that  the  whole  of  man  is  permeated  by  the  spirit  of  God. 
Both  body  and  soul  arc  endowed  with  the  power  of  con- 
tinuous  self-improvement.     In   order   to   see   the   great   si'- 
periority  of  the  Jewish  view  over  the  heathen  one,  we  need 
only  study  the  old  Babylonian  legend  preserved  by  Berosus. 
In  this  the  deity  made  man  by  mixing  earth  with  some  of  its 
own  life-blood,  thus  endowing  the  human  soul  with  liigher 
powers.     In  the  Bible  the  difterence  between  man  and  beast 
does  not  he  in  the  blood,  although  the  blood  is  still  thought 
to  h°  the  life.     The  distinction  of  man  is  in  the  spirit,  ruah, 
which  emanates  from  God  and  penetrates  both  body  and  soul, 


1»i 


ii 
hi 


J* 


I ! 
■1 ' ' 


M 


214 


JEWISH   THEOUMiY 


lifting  the  whoic  man  into  a  higher  realm  and  making  him  a 
frvf  moral  person, i lily. 

Still  the  Bible  makes  no  clear  distinction  between  the  three 
terms,  ncfcsli,  nrsli<tmii/i.  and  ruali}  Phllo  first  distinguished 
between  three  difTerent  substances  of  the  soul,  but  his  theory 
was  the  IMatonic  one.  for  which  he  simply  used  the  three 
Biblical  names.-  The  Jewish  philosophers  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
beginning  with  Saadia,  took  the  same  attitude  even  though 
they  realized  more  or  less  that  the  division  of  the  soul  into 
three  substances  has  no  Scriptural  warrant.^  In  rabl>inical 
literature  this  division  is  scarcely  known,  and  there  is  little 
mention  of  either  the  animal  soul,  ucfcsli,  or  the  vital  spark, 
rua/i.  Instead  the  word  neshamah  is  used  for  the  human 
psyche  as  the  higher  spiritual  substance,  and  the  contrast  to 
it  is  not  the  Biblical  basar,  flesh,  but  the  Aramaic  gi(f>h,  body.* 
This  bears  a  trace  of  Persian  dualism,  with  its  strong  contrast 
between  the  earthly  body  and  the  heavenh'  soul. 

4.  In  fact,  rabbinical  Judaism  does  not  recognize  any 
relationship  between  the  soul  of  the  animal  and  that  of  man, 
but  claims  that  man  has  a  special  type  of  existence.  The 
Midrash  tells  •'  that  God  formed  Adam's  body  so  as  to  reach 
from  earth  to  heaven,  and  then  caused  the  soul  to  enter  it. 
In  the  same  way  God  implants  the  soul  into  the  embryo  before 
its  birth  and  while  in  the  womb.  Before  this  the  soul  had  a  bird- 
like  existence  in  an  immense  celestial  cage  {guph  =  colum- 
barium), and  when  it  leaves  the  body  in  death,  it  again  takes 

'Sec  Dillmann,  1.  c,  J5S-j6i ;  Davidson,  1.  c,  182-20J;  comp.  Gen.  R. 
XI\',  II,  where  these  three  terms  are  given,  and  also  yehidah,  Vs.  XXII,  21; 
XXXV,  17,  and  hayak,  Ps.  XCLIII,  3;  Job  XXXIII,  i. 

2  De  Leg.  Alleg.  Ill,  38. 

'See  Horoviti:  D.  Psychologic  Smidias;  Scheyer :  D.  psycholog.  System  d. 
Maimonides;  Cassel's  CwcarJ,  p.  382-400;  Husik,  1.  c,  IX,  41;  and  see  also 
Index  :  Soul. 

*Sanh.  91  a,  b;  Nid.  30  b-31  b;  Sifre  Deut.  306,  ref.  to  Deut.  XXXII, 
I ;  Lev.  IV,  5-8. 

•Ab.  Z.  sa;  Gen.  R.  VIII,  i. 


I' 


THE    DUAL   NATURi:    OF   MAN 


215 


its  flight  toward  heaven.  There  its  conduct  on  earth  will 
reap  a  reward  in  the  garden  of  eternal  bliss  or  a  punishment 
in  the  infernal  regions.  The  belief  in  the  pree.xistence  of  the 
soul  was  shared  by  the  rabbis  with  the  apocry{)hal  authors 
and  Philo.' 

Ho  ever,  rabbinical  Judaism  never  followed  Philo  so  far 
in  the  footsteps  of  Plato  as  to  consider  the  body  or  the  flesn 
the  source  of  im|)urity  and  sin.  or  "the  prison  house  of  the 
soul."  This  view  is  fundamental  in  the  Faulinian  system  of 
other-worldliness.  For  the  rabbis  the  sensuous  desire  of  the 
body  (yczcr)  is  a  tendency  toward  sin,  but  never  a  compul- 
sion. The  weakness  of  the  flesh  may  cause  a  straying  from 
the  right  path,  but  man  can  turn  the  desires  of  the  flesh  into 
the  service  of  the  good.  He  can  always  assert  his  divine 
power  of  freedom  by  opposing  the  evil  inclination  {yezer  ha 
ni)  with  the  good  inclination  {yczcr  lui  toh)  to  overcome 
it.-  In  fact,  the  ral)l)is  are  so  far  from  acknowledging  the 
existence  of  a  compulsion  of  evil  in  the  flesh,  that  they  point 
to  the  history  of  great  men  as  proof  that  the  highest  charac- 
ters have  the  mightiest  passions  in  their  souls,  and  that  their 
greatness  consists  in  the  will  by  which  they  have  learned  to 
control  themselves.^ 

5.  In  the  light  of  modern  science  the  whole  theory  separat- 
ing body  and  soul  falls  to  the  ground,  and  thi'  one  connect- 
ing man  more  closely  with  the  animal  world  is  revived.  In 
this  connection  we  think  of  the  idea  which  medieval  thinkers 
adopted  from  Plato  and  .Aristotle,  that  there  is  a  substance  of 
souls  —  ncfcsli    hahiyonith  —  which    forms     the    basic    life- 

>  B.  Wisdom,  VIII,  20;  Slav.  KncKh  XXIII,  5;  Philo  I,  15,  32;  II,  356; 
comp.  Bousset,  1.  c,  p.  508  f. 

>Gen.  VI,  5;  VIII,  21;  B.  Sira  XV,  14;  XVII,  ji ;  XXI,  11;  Ber  5  a; 
Kid.  30  b;  Suit.  52  a,  b;  Shah.  152  b;  Vxd.  H.  XII,  7  ;  comp.  F.  Ch.  Porter: 
"The  Vezer  ha  Ra"  in  Biblicdl  and  Semilic  Sludies,  93-i5<>;  Bousset,  I.  c, 
46?  f. 

»  Suk.  52  a,  b. 


f'^'k  V 


2l() 


^'# 


JKWISH   TIIEOIXHIY 


forcf  of  men  and  animals.  Physiology  and  psychoIoRy  re- 
veal tho  interaction  and  depetulenri'  of  liody  and  soul  in  the 
lowest  forms  of  animal  life  as  well  as  in  the  higher  forms,  in- 
eluding  man.  The  beginnings  of  the  human  mind  must  be 
s»)ught  onte  for  all  in  the  animal,  just  as  the  origiti  »)f  the 
animal  reaches  back  into  the  plant  world.  Indeed,  Aris- 
totle anticipates  the  discoveries  of  modern  science,  placing 
the  vegetative  and  animal  souls  beside  the  s|)irit  of  man. 
Thus  motion  and  sensibility  form  the  lower  boundary-line 
of  the  animal  kingdom,  and  self-tonsciousness  and  self-deter- 
mination are  the  criteria  of  humanity. 

Yet  this  very  self-conscious  freedom  which  forms  man's 
personality,  his  ego,  lifts  him  into  a  realm  of  free  action  under 
higher  motives,  transcending  nature's  law  of  necessity,  and 
therefore  not  falling  within  the  domain  of  natural  science. 
Dust-born  man,  notwithstanding  his  earthly  limitations,  in 
spite  of  his.  kinship  to  mollusk  and  mammal,  enters  the  realm 
of  the  divine  spirit.  In  the  Midrash  the  rabbis  remark  that 
man  shares  the  nature  of  both  animals  and  angels.'  Admit- 
ting this,  we  feel  that  he  is  tied  neither  to  heaven  nor  to  the 
earth,  but  free  to  lift  himself  above  all  creatures  or  sink  below 
them  all. 

6.  Endowed  with  this  dual  nature,  man  stands  in  the  very 
center  of  the  universe,  and  God  esteems  him  "equal  in 
value  to  the  entire  creation,"  as  Rabbi  Nehemiah  says  of  a 
single  human  soul.-  Rabbi  Akiba  stresses  the  image  of  God 
in  humanity  when  he  says:  "Beloved  is  man,  for  he  is  cre- 
ated in  God's  image,  and  it  was  a  special  token  of  love  that 
he  becai.  e  conscious  of  it.  Beloved  is  Israel,  for  they  are 
called  the  children  of  God,  and  it  was  a  special  token  of  love 
that  they  became  conscious  of  it."  ^  The  Midrash  compares 
man  to  God  in  exquisite  manner:  "Just  as  God  permeates 
the  world  and  carries  it,  unseen  yet  seeing  all.  enthroned 

'Gen.  R.  VIII,  II.  » .\b.  d.  R.  N.  XXXI.  » Aboth  III,  i8. 


t^ 


THK    DIAL   N.MURK   OK    MAN 


217 


within  as  the  Only  One,  the  IVrft-it,  and  tht-  Pure,  yi-t  nevrr 
to  be  reat  hcd  or  found  out ;  so  the  »oul  |M'nctrates  and  carries 
the  body,  us  the  one  pure  and  himinou>  bilnn  whic  h  sees  and 
holds  all  things,  while  itM-lf  unseen  and  unreac  bed."  '  The 
t(>n(e{)ti')n  of  the  s(,ul  is  here  divested  of  every  sensory  at- 
tribute, and  |)ortraye<l  a>  a  divine  fon c  within  the  Ixxly.  This 
con(e[)tion,  whith  was  accepted  by  (he  medieval  philosophers, 
is  thorouf^hly  consistent  wilh  <jur  view  of  the  world.  The 
soul  it  is  whi(  h  mirrors  both  the  material  and  spiritual  worlds 
and  holds  thi-m  in  mutual  relation  throuj^h  its  own  power. 
It  is  at  the  same  time  swayed  upward  anci  rlownward  by  its 
various  cravings,  heavenly  and  earthly,  and  this  very  tension 
constitutes  the  dual  nature  of  the  human  soul. 

'  Her.  10  a;    Mi.lr,   Teh.  I's.  CIII,  4-5. 


w 

! 

i 

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1 

a 

fi 

■                fe 

I* 

i  '' 

Ws 

X 

Iff  ; 


CHAPTKR   XXXV 
The  ()Rir,tN  and  Destiny  of  Man 

1.  Of  all  crcatfd  bciriRs  man  alorir  jiosscsscs  the  power  of 
sclf-determinatinn  ;  he  assigns  his  dt'stiny  to  himself.  While 
I,  endeavors  to  fmd  the  object  of  all  other  things  and  even  of 
his  own  existence  in  the  world,  he  finds  hi^  own  f)iiri)ose  within 
himself.  Star  and  stone,  [)lant  and  beast  fulfill  their  purpose 
in  the  whole  {)lan  of  creation  by  their  existence  and  varied 
natures,  and  arc  aeeordiii^'ly  e.illed  "good"  as  they  are. 
Man,  however,  realizes  that  he  must  accomplish  his  purpose 
by  his  manner  of  life  and  the  voluntary  exertion  of  his  own 
powers.  He  is  "good"  only  as  far  as  he  fulfills  his  destiny 
on  earth.  He  is  not  good  by  mere  existence,  but  by  his 
conduct.  Not  what  he  is,  but  w'lat  he  ought  to  be  gives 
value  to  his  being.  He  is  good  or  bad  according  to  the  direc- 
tion of  his  will  and  acts  by  the  imperative:  "I  ought"  or 
"I  ought  not,"  which  comes  to  him  in  his  conscience,  the  ice 
of  God  calling  to  his  soul. 

2.  The  problem  of  human  destiny  is  answcreci  by  Judaism 
with  the  idea  that  God  is  the  ideal  and  pattern  of  all  morality. 
Thi.  answer  given,  then,  is  "To  walk  in  the  ways  of  (iod,  to 
be  righteous  and  just,"  as  He  is.'-  The  prophet  Micah  ex- 
pressed it  in  the  familiar  words:  "It  has  been  told  thee,  O 
man,  what  is  good,  and  what  the  Lord  doth  require  of  thee: 
Only  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly 
with  thy  God"'  Accordingly  the  Bible  coi  sidcrs  men  of 
the  older  generations  the  prototypes  of  moral  concia.-t,  "right- 

»  Gen.  XVIII,  19;   Deut.  Vltl,  6;  X,  la;  XXXII,  4-  '  Micah  VI,  8. 

aiS 


r 


TMK  ORKIIN   AND   DKSTINY  Ol"   MAX 


210 


cous  men  who  walked  with  (i.xl,"  Sut  h  men  were  Knoch, 
Noah,  and  above  all  Abraham,  to  whom  (iod  saicl ;  "  I  am 
Ciml  Almighty;  walk  before  Me,  and  be  thou  whole  hearted. 
And  I  will  make  My  lovenant  between  thee  and  Mc."  ' 
The  rabbis  sinj?led  out  Abraham  as  ihc  type  of  a  perfect  man 
on  ateount  of  his  love  of  ri^hleousness  and  peace  ;  contrasting 
him  with  Adam  who  sinned,  they  beheld  him  as  "the  great 
man  among  the  henKS  of  the  ancient  times."  They  even 
considered  him  the  type  of  true  humanity,  in  whom  the 
t)bjecl  of  creation  was  attained.* 

_].  This  moral  consciousness,  however,  which  tells  man  to 
walk  in  the  ways  of  Clod  ami  be{)erfe(t.  is  also  the  source  of 
shame  and  remorse.  With  sut  h  an  ideal  man  must  feel  con- 
stantly that  he  falls  short,  that  he  is  not  what  he  ought  to  be. 
Only  the  little  child,  who  knows  nothinj^  as  yet  of  good  and 
evil,  can  preserve  the  joy  of  life  unmarred.  Similarly,  primi- 
tive man.  being  ignorant  of  guilt,  (ould  ()ass  his  days  without 
care  or  fear.  Hut  as  soon  as  he  becomes  conscious  of  guilt, 
discord  enters  his  soul,  and  he  feels  as  if  he  had  been  driven 
from  the  presence  of  (Iod. 

This  feeling  is  allegori/.ed  in  the  Paradise  legend.  The 
garden  of  bliss,  half  earthly,  half  heavenly,  which  is  else- 
where called  the  "mountain  of  (Iod."'  a  place  of  wondrous 
trees,  beasts,  and  precious  stones,  whence  the  four  great  rivers 
flow,  is  the  abode  of  divine  beings.  The  fir>t  man  and  woman 
ct)uld  dwell  in  it  only  so  long  as  they  lived  in  harmony  with 
Ciod  and  His  commandments.  As  soon  as  the  tempter  in 
the  shape  of  the  serpent  called  forth  a  discord  between  the 
divine  will  and  human  desire,  man  could  no  longer  enjoy 
celestial  bliss,  but  must  begin  the  (ireary  earthly  life,  with  its 
burdens  and  trials. 

'Gen.  V.  J2;  VT,  o;   WIT.  1-2. 

2  Gen.  R.  XH.  'J;   XIV,  f^,  r-f   t^=  J^v.h   XIV,  jj. 

«  Ezek.  XXVIII,  14. 


in  rr» TT^^ -%: V z, -C^^-^  1  '^ % i; ' y 


3  20 


JKWISM   TMKOUHiV 


4.  This  story  <>f  the  fall  of  the  first  man  is  an  allrRorical 
description  of  ihe  slate  of  (hiMlike  innocenre  whiih  man 
must  leave  behind  in  order  to  attain  true  strength  «)f  char- 
acter. It  is  hased  u|)on  a  view  common  to  all  antiquity  of  a 
'•escent  of  the  race;  that  is  :  first  came  the  >"  'den  age,  when 
man  led  a  life  of  ease  and  pleasurv  in  company  with  the  g«)<ls; 
then  an  age  of  silver,  another  of  brass,  and  finally  the  iron  age, 
with  its  toil  and  l)itter  woe.  Thus  did  evil  dee«ls  and  wild 
passions  increase  among  men.  This  view  fails  utterly  to 
recogni/e  th»'  value  of  labor  as  a  (ivill/ing  force  making  for 
pr(tgres->,  an<l  it  lontradii  ts  the  m<Mlern  historical  view.  The 
prophets  of  Israel  place<l  the  golden  age  at  the  end,  not  the 
beginning  ot  history,  so  that  the  purpose  of  n.ankind  was  to 
est  .blish  a  heavenly  kingdom  u|M»n  the  earth.  In  fact,  the  fall 
of  man  is  not  referred  to  anywhere  in  Scripture  and  never  be- 
came a  doctrine,  or  belief,  of  Judaism.  On  the  contrary,  the 
Hellenistic  expounders  of  the  Bible  take  it  for  granted  that 
the  story  is  an  allegory,  ami  the  book  of  Proverbs  under- 
stands the  tree  of  life  symbolically,  in  the  verse:  "She  (the 
Torah)  is  a  tree  of  life  to  them  that  lay  hold  upon  her."  ' 

5.  Still  the  rabbis  in  Talmud  and  Midrash  accepted  the 
legend  in  good  faith  as  historical  *  and  took  it  literally  as  did 
the  great  Knglish  poet : 

"  The  fruit 
Of  that  forbidden  tree  whose  mortal  taste 
Brought  diath  into  the  world,  and  all  our  woe, 
With  loss  of  Edtn." 

In  fact,  they  even  followed  the  Persian  dualism  with  its  evil 
princii)le,  the  primeval  serpent,  or  the  Babylonian  legend  of 
the  sea-monster  Tiamat,  and  regarded  the  serpent  in  Paradise 
as  a  demon.  He  was  identified  with  Satan,  the  arch-fiend, 
and  later  with  evil  in    general,  the  yrzrr  ha  rn^     Thus  the 


» Prov.  Ill,  18. 


«Gen.  R.  XVI,  10;  Shab.  55  b. 


•  B.  B.  IS  a. 


I 


•gf:¥.,.',i^:-lf-^.:^7 


f-, 


TME  ()RI(;iN   AND   DKSTINY  OK   MAN 


221 


belief  arose  that  the  |M)ison.»UH  breath  nf  the  s«r|K'nt  inftite«l 
all  Kener-iti«ms,  tau^in^  death  even  <»f  the  sinlrs,  '  The 
a|H>cryj)li.i  also  helil  that  the  envy  «»f  Satan  hniunht  leath 
into  the  world*  Thi-i  preparecl  for  the  tli«.n»al  ihurch  dot 
trine  of  origin  il  ''in,  the  basin  of  Paul's  teat  hirt^s.  whit  h  tle- 
mandeil  a  blooti  atonement  for  lurNeladett  hutnanily,  and 
found  it  after  the  pagan  pattern  in  the  viiariou>  satrifue  t>f 
a  tlyin^  «<"!  * 

Against  suih  jR-rversion  of  the  >imple  I'aradiM'  stor>  th< 
sttund  tomnion  M-nse  of  the  Jewish  people  rttHlletl  While 
the  early  Talmutli^'ts  otiasionally  mention  the  poinonin^  of 
the  human  race  by  the  s«rptiit,  they  tiiul  an  antiilute  for  the 
Jewish  people  in  the  covenant  with  Abraham  or  that  of  Sinai.' 
One  I  annot,  however,  distern  the  least  indit  ation  t)f  Ijclief  in 
original  sin,  either  as  inherent  in  the  human  rate  t)r  inherited 
by  them.  Nor  titH's  the  liturgy  express  any  suih  idea,  espe- 
cially for  the  Day  of  Penitent  e,  when  it  woultl  certainly  be  men- 
tioned if  the  conception  ftmnil  any  place  in  Jewish  tlot  trine.  ( )n 
the  contrary,  the  prevailing  thought  of  Jutlaism  is  that  of  Deu- 
tertmomy  and  Kzekiel,*  that  "  Kath  man  tlies  by  his  own  sin," 
that  every  soul  must  bear  only  the  ctjnsetjuences  of  his  t)wn 
deeds.  The  rabbis  even  state  that  nt)  man  tlies  unless  he  has 
brtmght  it  upon  himself  by  his  own  sin,  and  mention  especially 
certain  exceptit)ns  to  this  rule,  such  as  the  four  saintly  men 
who  tlietl  without  sin,'  or  certain  chiltlren  whose  tleath  was 
due  to  the  sin  t)f  their  parents.^  They  could  never  admit 
that  the  whole  human  race  was  st)  corruptetl  by  the  sin  of  the 
first  man  that  it  is  still  in  a  state  t)f  sinfulness. 

6.   Of  course,  the  rabbinical  scht»ols  took  literally  the  Bib- 
lical story  of  the  fall  of  man  and  laid  the  chief  blame  upon 

'  Shab.  146  a;   Yeb.  103  b;  Ab.  Zar.  n  b;  Shab  55  b. 

•  B.  Wistlom,  II,  J4.  '  Romans  V,  i  j  f. 
«S.hab   .46  a  »ne«t.  XXIV,  :?>;    K_..ek   XVIII,  4. 

•  Shab.  S5  a,  b.  '  Shab.  ii  b. 


;!. 


JI.WISH  THKOIXX.Y 


7-TT 


woman,  who  fell  a  prty  to  ihi-  wIIi-h  of  ihf  "frpt'nt  Thin  |i 
clone  even  l»y  Ht-n  Sira,  who  sa\s:  "With  woman  lamr  the 
IwRinninR  of  sin,  and  thnrngh  h«r  wr  all  mwt  «lic  "  •  So  the 
Talmud  say-*  that  tliH-  to  woman,  man,  tin  trown,  liKht,  and 
lift-  of  irt-ation,  lost  hi**  purity,  hi*,  luster,  .iiid  his  innuirtality* 
The  Biblical  vithc.  "  Ihry  did  tat.  and  the  cycH  of  thi-m  !>oth 
wiTc  .iprnt-d."  is  inJi-rpn  ted  by  Ral)l)i  Johanan  hen  Zakkai 
and  Kahhi  .Xkiha  as  "Thiy  saw  the  dire  tonsequenies  of  their 
sin  u|)on  all  tonvinj^  (generations  "  ■*  The  fall  <»f  man  h  treated 
most  elal>or;>tily  in  the  same  spirit  in  the  two  apocalyptic 
biM)ks  written  after  th<-  destruition  of  the  Second  Temple, 
the  A|>o(  alypse  of  Barut  h  and  the  IV  Book  of  INdras,*  The 
iniompatibility  of  divine  love  with  the  sufferings  of  man 
anil  of  the  Jewi  «h  people  on  attount  tif  the  sin  of  the  first 
man  is  solved  by  an  appeal  to  the  linal  Day  of  Juclgment. 
and  the  striking  remark  is  adde<l  tli.it,  ai'ter  all,  "each  is  his 
own  Ad.ini  and  is  heM  respon-^ible  fi>r  his  own  sin."  We 
cannot  di  ny  that  these  two  books  contain  much  that  is  near 
the  Paulinian  view  of  ori).;inal  sin.  It  seems,  h<iwever,  that 
the  Jewish  teachers  were  put  on  their  ^uard  by  the  enipli.iMS 
of  this  pessimistic  do^ma  by  the  nascent  Church  and  did 
their  best  to  K'ive  a  dilTvrenl  a-pett  to  the  story  of  the  first 
sin.  Thus  they  say:  "It  .\dam  had  but  shown  repentance, 
and  done  |H"nance  after  he  committed  his  sin.  he  would  have 
been  spared  the  death  penalty."  ■'  Moreover,  they  actually 
represent  ,\(lam  and  Kve  as  p.itterns  of  repvnt  mt  sinners, 
who  underwent  severe  [>enance  an<l  thu  )bl;\ined  the  promise 
of  divine  mercy  and  also  of  liiuil  icsurrei  lion.*  Instead  of 
transmitting  the  heritage  of  ^^in  to  comii"^  generations,  the 

•  R.  Sini  XXV,  34.  '  Vcr.  Shab,  11.5  '> 
»Gen.  R.  XIX,  10,  rtf.  to  <an.  lit,  (y-:. 

♦Ap<)c.  Baruch  XXIII.  r,    XLVIiI,  4^  f  i    1-VI,  <>■    anU  especially  LIV, 
14-ig;   IV  F.sdras  III,  7      ^H.  11,  I'.S. 
'Pcsik.  \'K>  b;    Num.  K    .S.1II.  v 

•  P.  d.  K.  F,I  ,  XX  .   comp.  .'\fiutn  .iml  l.vr.  I ;    Erub    18  b. 


Till:  ORK.IN   AND   DKSTINV   OK    MAN 


ii.l 


fir"»t  man  it  for  ilum  an  cxampU*  «>(  r«*i»rntan«r  So  do  tlu- 
Ha){Ka(ii<«t!i  ttll  u>  (|uilf  « li.irai  lcri>itikally  tliat  CxkI  tnrrrlv 
watttt-<l  to  \i'^l  the  tir^t  man  l>>  an  insij^niiKanl  tuntmaml, 
»o  that  tlu-  tir^t  r«-|»rc'M'ntati\i'  of  the  human  ran-  shoiiltl  show 
whcth«r  hr  was  worthy  t«i  cnlfr  ittrnal  hfi*  in  his  mortal  Karb, 
as  (ii<l  I'lnoth  and  Klijah.  As  hi*  lovdd  not  stand  the  test, 
he  forftitnl  thf  marks  «»f  divitii-  rank,  his  ult-slial  radiance, 
his  ^'i>;anti»  si/i-.  and  hi>  power  li'  ovenonu*  death'  Ob- 
viously the  Hiblii  d  story  was  emln  li^lud  with  m.iti  rial  from 
the  Persian  legend  of  the  fall  of  \  ima  or  |)jem^hill.  the  first 
man.  frt)m  su|H'rhuman  nreatnes>i  beLiUM-  «»f  his  sin.'  but  it 
was  always  related  frankly  as  a  leKen<l.  and  toiild  never  in- 
fluence the  Jewi>^h  i()n<«  plion  of  the  fall  of  man 

7.  Judaism  rejert-  tompletely  the  belief  in  lur«ilitary  sin 
and  the  corruption  of  the  llesh.  Ihe  Hibli«  al  verse.  "t'MKl 
made  man  upright  ;  but  they  have  sought  out  many  inven- 
tions," *  is  ex{>lairu'd  in  the  Midrish  :  "r|)riKht  and  just  as 
is  God,  He  made  man  after  His  likeness  in  orth  r  that  he  mij{ht 
strive  after  rij;hteou^ness.  and  unfolil  ever  more  his  godlike 
nature,  but  n>en  in  their  (lissen>ions  have  marred  the  divine 
imaKC."  '  With  refereme  to  another  verse  in  Kcdesi.istes :  ' 
"The  dusi  returneth  unto  the  earth  as  it  was,  and  the  spirit 
returneth  unto  tiod  who  j;ave  it."  the  rabliis  teach  "Pure  as 
the  soul  is  when  entering;  upon  its  earthly  career,  so  can  man 
return  it  to  his  Maker."  "  Then  fore  the  f>ious  Jew  l)eKins 
his  daily  prayers  with  the  words:  "M.\  (itwl,  the  soul  which 
Thou  hast  Kiveii  me  is  pure."  '      The  lifelong  battle  with 


•  C;cn.  R,  XII,  s ,  XIX,  1 1 ,  XXI,  4  f  .  com().  Sh.il>  5S  b 

'  Sec  \Vin<1ishman  :  /.orjaslrischf  Sliidii'i,  p.  ;-7  f. 

'  KilI   \II.  11,.  '  T.inh    Ycl.imcli-nii  to  Ofn.  Ill,  31. 

»Ki.l.  XH,  7  "Shah,  isi  I). 

'  Her.  80  a.  The  rabbis  did  not  have  the  iK-licf  that  the  bo«l>  norally 
impure  and  therefore  the  seat  "f  the  \rzrr  ha  r,i,  as  is  »tate<i  by  \Vet)cr.  .  i..  ..S  f. 
I">tc  I'lHlfi,  i.  I...  <)H-io,  ,  "» iin-iitti  .  A^pi'i^.  2\i-i\)i.  it  ii  nT'^rig  aiso  to 
explain  Ps.  LI,  7,  "  Betiuld  I  was  brought  forth  in  ini(juity,  and  in  sin  did  my 


pl^-^ 


i2^>slfi^ 


224 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


(.••  .i 


"  r'  I 


sin  begins  only  at  the  age  when  sensual  desire,  "the  evil  in- 
clination," awakens  in  youth;  then  the  state  of  primitive 
innocence  makes  way  for  the  sterner  contest  for  manly  virtue 
and  strength  of  character. 

8.  In  fact,  the  whole  Paradise  story  could  never  be  made 
the  basis  for  a  dogma.  The  historicity  of  the  serpent  is  de- 
nied by  Saadia ; '  the  rabbis  transfer  Paradise  with  the  tree 
of  life  to  heaven  as  a  reward  for  the  future ; '  and  both 
Nahmanides  the  mystic  and  Maimonides  the  philosopher 
give  it  an  allegorical  meaning.'  On  the  other  hand,  the  Hag- 
gadic  teachers  perceived  the  simple  truth  that  a  life  of  in- 
dolence in  Paradise  would  incapacitate  man  for  his  cultural 
task,  and  that  the  toils  and  struggles  inflicted  on  man  as  a 
curse  are  in  reality  a  blessing.  Therefore  they  laid  special 
stress  on  the  Biblical  statem.ent:  "He  put  man  into  the 
garden  of  Eden  to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it."  *  The  following 
parable  is  especially  suggestive:  "When  Adam  heard  the 
stern  sentence  passed :  'Thou  shalt  eat  the  herb  of  the  field,' 
he  burst  into  tears,  and  said  :  'Am  I  and  my  ass  to  eat  out  of 
the  same  manger?'  Then  came  another  sentence  from  God 
to  reassure  him,  'In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat 
bread,'  and  forth"'ith  he  became  aware  that  man  shall  attain 
a  higher  dignity  by  dint  of  labor."  ^  Indeed,  labor  transforms 
the  wilderness  into  a  garden  and  the  earth  into  a  habitation 
worthy  of  the  son  of  God.    The  "book  of  the  generations  of 

mother  conceive  me,"  as  inherited  sinfulness,  as  Delitzsch  and  other  Christian 
commentator?;  have  done,  followinR  Ibn  Ezra,  who  refers  this  to  Eve,  the 
mother  of  all  men.  The  correct  interpretation  is  Riven  by  R.  Ahha  in  Lev.  R. 
XIV,  s ;  "  F^vcry  sexual  act  is  the  work  of  sensuality,  the  Yezer  ha  ra."  Comp. 
Yoma  6g  b.  Neealess  to  say  that  Hosea  VI,  7 ;  Isa.  XLIII,  37 ;  Job  XXXI,  33 
do  not  refer  to  the  sin  of  Adam. 

'  See  Ibn  Ezra  to  Gen.  Ill,  i. 

'  See  Taan.  10  a ;  Ber.  34  b ;  D.  comp.  Enoch  XXIX-XXXII ;  Seder  Can 
Eden,  in  Jellinek,  Beth  ha  Midrash,  II,  III. 

•  Morch,  II,  30;  Nahmanides  to  Gen.  Ill,  i. 

«  Gen.  k.  XVI,  »,  ref.  to  Gen.  II,  15.  » Pes.  ma;  Gen.  R.  XX,  24. 


THE  ORIGIN  AND   DESTINY  OF  MAN 


225 


1 


man"  which  begins  with  Adam  is  accordingly  not  the  history 
of  man's  descent,  but  of  his  continuous  ascent,  of  ever  higher 
achievements  and  aspirations ;  it  is  not  a  record  of  the  fall 
of  man,  but  of  his  rise  from  age  to  age.  According  to  the 
Midrash  *  God  opened  before  Adam  the  book  with  the  deeds 
and  names  of  the  leading  spirits  of  all  the  coming  generations, 
showing  him  the  latent  powers  of  the  human  intellect  and 
soul.  The  phrase,  "the  fall  of  man,"  can  mean,  in  fact, 
only  the  inner  exjx:rience  of  the  individual,  who  does  fall  from 
his  original  idea  of  purity  and  divine  nobility  into  transgres- 
sion and  sin.  It  cannot  refer  to  mankind  as  a  whole,  for  the 
human  race  has  never  experienced  a  fall,  nor  is  it  affected  by 
original  or  hereditary  sin. 

» Seder  Ohm  at  the  close;  Gen.  R.  XXIV,  2. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

God's  Spirit  in  Man 


m 


m 


"I 


1.  Man  is  placed  in  an  animal  world  of  dull  feelings,  of 
blind  and  crude  cravings.  Vet  his  clear  understanding, 
his  self-conscious  will  and  his  aspirations  forward  and  up- 
ward lead  him  into  a  higher  world  where  he  obtains  insight 
into  the  order  and  unity  of  all  things.  By  the  spirit  of  God 
he  is  able  to  understand  material  things  and  grasp  them  in 
their  relations;  thus  he  can  apply  all  his  knowledge  and 
creative  imagination  to  construct  a  world  of  ideals.  But  this 
world,  in  all  its  truth,  beauty  and  goodness,  is  still  limited 
and  tlnite,  a  feeble  shadow  of  the  intmite  world  of  God.  As 
the  Bible  says:  "The  spirit  of  man  is  the  lamp  of  the  Lord, 
searching  all  the  inward  parts."'  "It  is  a  spirit  in  man, 
and  the  breath  of  the  Almighty,  that  giveth  them  under- 
standing." ^ 

2.  According  to  the  Biblical  conception,  the  spirit  of  God 
endows  men  with  all  their  differing  capacities;  it  gives  to 
one  man  wisdom  by  which  he  penetrates  into  the  causes  of 
existence  and  orders  facts  into  a  scientific  system  ;  to  another 
the  seeing  eye  by  which  he  captures  the  secret  of  beauty  and 
creates  works  of  art ;  and  to  a  third  the  genius  to  perceive 
the  ways  of  God,  the  laws  of  virtue,  that  he  may  become  a 
teacher  of  ethical  truth.  In  other  words,  the  spirit  of  God 
i".  "the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  the  spirit  of 
counsel  and  might,  the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  the  fear  of 
the  Lord."  ^    It  works  upon  the  scientific  interest  of  the  in- 

»  Prov.  XX,  27.  *  Job  XXXII,  S.  '  Isa.  XI,  2. 

326 


GOD'S  SPIRIT  IN   MAN 


227 


vestigator,  the  imagination  of  the  artist  and  poet,  the  ethical 
and  social  sense  of  the  prophet,  teacher,  statesman,  and  law- 
giver. Thus  their  high  and  holy  vision  of  the  divine  is  brought 
home  to  the  people  and  implanted  within  them  under  the  in- 
spiration of  God.  In  commenting  upon  the  Biblical  verse, 
"Wisdom  and  might  are  His  ...  He  giveth  wisdom  to  the 
wise,  and  knowledge  to  them  chat  know  understanding,"  ' 
the  sages  wisely  remark,  "God  carefully  selects  those  who 
possess  wisdom  for  His  gift  of  wisdom."  Even  as  a  musical 
instrument  must  be  attuned  for  the  finer  notes  that  it  may  have 
a  clear,  resonant  tone,  so  the  human  soul  must  be  made 
especially  susceptible  to  the  gifts  of  the  spirit  in  order  to  be 
capable  of  unfolding  them.  Thus  the  Talmud  records  an 
interei  ing  dialogue  on  this  very  passage  between  a  Roman 
matron  familiar  with  the  Scripture,  and  Rabbi  Jose  ben 
Halafta.  She  asked  sarcastically,  "Would  it  not  have  been 
more  generous  of  your  God  to  have  given  wisdom  to  those  that 
are  unwise  than  to  those  that  already  possess  it  ?  "  Thereupon 
the  Jewish  master  replied,  "If  you  were  to  lend  a  precious 
ornament,  would  you  not  lend  it  to  one  who  was  able  to  make 
use  of  it?  So  God  gives  the  treasure  of  wisdom  to  the  wise, 
who  know  how  to  appreciate  and  develop  it,  not  to  the  unwise, 
who  do  not  know  its  value."  - 

3.  Thus  the  diverse  gifts  of  the  divine  spirit  are  distributed 
differently  among  the  various  classes  and  tribes  of  men,  ac- 
cording to  their  capacity  and  the  corresponding  task  which  is 
assigned  them  by  Providence.  The  divine  spark  is  set  aglow 
in  each  human  soul,  sometimes  feebly,  sometimes  brightly, 
but  it  blazes  high  only  in  the  privileged  personality  or  group. 
The  mutual  relationship  between  God  and  man  is  recognized 
by  the  Synagogue  in  the  Eighteen  Benedictions,  where  the 

'  Dan.  II,  20-21. 

'  Tanh.  Miketz  9 ;  comp.  Tanh.  Yelamdenu  Wayakhel,  where  the  story  is 
told  diflereniiy. 


aaS 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


y':h-^ 


one  directly  following  the  three  praises  of  God  is  devoted  to 
wisdom  and  knowledge:  "Thou  favorest  man  with  knowl- 
edge, and  teachest  mortals  understanding.  So  favor  us  with 
knowledge,  understanding,  and  discernment  from  Thee. 
Blessed  art  Thou,  O  Lord,  gracious  Giver  of  knowledge."' 
This  petition,  remarks  Jehuda  ha  Levi,'  deserves  its  position 
as  diA  among  these  prayers,  because  wisdom  brings  us  nearer 
to  God.  It  is  also  noteworthy  that  the  Synagogue  prescribes 
a  special  benediction  at  the  sight  of  a  renowned  sage,  even  if 
he  is  not  a  Jew,  reading,  "  Praised  be  He  who  has  imparted 
of  His  wisdom  to  flesh  and  blood."' 

4.  Maimonidcs  holds  that  in  the  same  ^egree  as  a  man 
studies  the  works  of  God  in  nature,  he  will  be  fdled  with 
longing  for  direct  knowledge  of  God  and  true  love  of  Him.* 
"Not  only  religion,  but  also  the  sciences  emanate  from  God, 
both  being  the  outcome  of  the  wisdom  which  God  imparts 
to  all  nations,"  —  thus  wrote  a  si.xteenth-ccntury  rabbi, 
Loewe  ben  Bezalel  of  Prague,  known  usually  as  "the  eminent 
Rabbi  Loewe."  ^  The  men  of  the  Talmud  also  accord  the 
palm  in  certain  types  of  knowledge  to  heathen  sages,  and  did 
not  hesitate  to  ascribe  to  some  heathens  the  highest  knowl- 
edge of  God  in  their  time.'  As  a  mystic  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  Isaac  ben  Latif,  says  :  "That  faith  is  the  most  per- 
fect which  perceives  truth  most  fully,  since  God  is  the  source 
of  all  truth."  ^  Of  the  two  heads  of  the  Babylonian  acade- 
mies, Rab  and  Samuel,  one  asserted  that  Moses  through  his 
prophetic  genius  reached  forty-nine  of  the  fifty  degrees  of 
the  divine  understanding  (as  the  fiftieth  is  reserved  for  God 
alone),  while  the  other  claimed  the  same  distinction  for  King 
Solomon  as  the  result  of  his  wisdom.* 


'  Sinfier's  Praycrbnok,  p.  46. 
'  lier.  5S  a;  Singer's  Prascrb.,  p. 
»  Nelhibot  darn,  XIV. 
'  Shaare  Shamayim,  IV',  3. 


'  Cuzari  in,  ig. 
.191.  *  Vcsodt'  ha  Toralt,  II, 

'  Pes.  Q4  b. 
8R.  h.  Sh.  21  b. 


GOD'S  SPIRIT   IN   MAN 


a  29 


3 


5.  Thus  the  spirit  of  God  creates  in  man  both  consciously 
and  unconsciously  a  world  of  ideas,  which  proves  him  a  being 
of  a  hijrher  order  in  creation.     This  impulse  may  work  actively, 
searching,  investigating,  and   creating,  or  passively   as  an 
instrument  of  a  higher  power.     .\t  first  it  is  a  dim,  uncertain 
groping  of  the  s|)irit ;  then  the  mind  acquires  greater  lucidity 
by  which  it  illumines  the  dark  world  ;   and,  as  one  cjuestion 
calls  for  the  other  and  one  thought  suggests  another,  the 
world  of  ideas  opens  up  as  a  well-connected  whole.    Thus 
man  creates  by  slow  steps  his  languages,  the  arts  and  sciences, 
ethics,  law  and  all  the  religions  with  their  varying  practices 
and  doctrines.    At  times  this  spirit  bursts  forth  with  greater 
vehemence  in  great  men,  geniuses  who  lift  the  race  with  one 
stroke  to  a  higher  level.     Such  men  may  say,  in  the  words 
of  David,  the  holy  singer:  "The  spirit  of  the  Lord  spoke  by 
me,  and  His  word  was  upon  my  tongue."  '    They  may  re- 
peat the  experience  of  Eliphaz  the  friend  of  Job : 

"  Now  a  word  was  secretly  brought  to  me, 
And  mine  ear  received  a  whisper  thereof. 
In  thoughts  from  the  visions  of  the  night, 
When  deep  sleep  falleth  on  men 
Fear  came  upon  me,  and  trembling, 
And  all  my  bones  were  made  to  shake. 
Then  a  spirit  passed  before  my  face, 
That  made  the  hair  of  my  flesh  to  stand  up. 
It  stood  still,  but  I  could  not  discern  the  appearance  thereof; 
A  form  was  before  mine  eyes ; 
I  heard  a  still  voice."  = 

In  such  manner  men  of  former  ages  received  a  religious  reve- 
lation, a  divine  message. 

6.  The  divine  spirit  always  selects  as  its  instruments  in- 
divi     als  with  special  endowments.     Still,  insight  into  his- 
tory snows  that  these  men  must  needs  have  grown  from  the 
>  n  Sam.  XXIII,  2.  'Job  IV,  1 2-16. 


■  I 


230 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


■  ■  • '. 


very  heart  of  their  own  people  and  their  own  age,  in  order 
that  they  might  hold  a  lofty  position  among  them  and  com- 
mand attention  for  their  message.  However  far  the  people 
or  the  age  may  be  from  the  man  chosen  by  God,  the  multi- 
tude must  feel  at  least  that  the  divine  spirit  speaks  through 
him,  or  works  within  him.  Or,  if  not  his  own  time,  then  a 
later  generation  must  respond  to  his  message,  lest  it  be  lost 
entirely  to  the  world. 

The  rabbis,  who  knew  nothing  of  laws  of  development 
for  the  human  mind,  assumed  that  the  first  man,  made  by 
God  Himself,  must  have  known  every  branch  of  knowledge 
and  skill,  that  the  spirit  of  God  must  have  been  most  vigorous 
in  him.'  They  therefore  believed  in  a  primeval  revelation, 
coeval  with  the  first  man.  Our  age,  with  its  tremendous 
emphasis  on  the  historical  view,  sees  the  divine  spirit  mani- 
fested most  clearly  in  the  very  development  and  growth  of  all 
life,  social,  intellectual,  moral  and  spiritual,  proceeding 
steadily  toward  the  highest  of  all  goals.  With  this  empha- 
sis, however,  on  process,  we  must  lay  stress  equally  on  the 
origin,  on  the  divine  impulse  or  initiative  in  this  historical 
development,  the  spirit  which  gives  direction  and  value  to 
the  whole. 

'  Gen.  R.  XXIV,  7;  comp.  Jubilees  III,  12. 


i 


it    t 


i\ 


. ',  ■ 


1  >  ri 


-  ^ ; 4;V*^-Ai-  '  sL-^^Tmi'    t^ -.'•^>"t'9    -^r^K. ."vv 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 


Free  Will  and  Moral  Rksponsibility 

1.  Judaism  has  ever  emphasized  the  freedom  of  the  will 
as  one  of  its  chief  doctrines.  The  dignity  and  greatness  of 
man  depends  largely  upon  his  freedom,  his  power  of  self- 
determination.  He  differs  from  the  lower  animals  in  his  in- 
dependence of  instinct  as  the  dictator  of  his  actions.  He 
acts  from  free  choice  and  conscious  design,  and  is  able  to  change 
his  mind  at  any  moment,  at  any  new  evidence  or  even  through 
whim.  He  is  therefore  responsible  for  his  every  act  or  omis- 
sion, even  for  his  every  intention.  This  alone  renders  him  a 
moral  being,  a  child  of  God ;  thus  the  moral  sense  rests  upon 
freedom  of  the  will.* 

2.  The  idea  of  moral  freedom  is  expressed  as  early  as  the 
first  pages  of  the  Bible,  in  the  words  which  G(xl  spoke  \o  Cain 
while  he  was  planning  the  murder  of  his  brother  J^hA: 
"Whether  or  not,  thou  ofTerest  an  acceptable  gift,"  (Nev; 
Bible  translation:  "If  thou  doest  well,  shall  it  not  be  lifted 
up?  and  if  thou  doest  not  well,")  "  sin  coucheth  at  the  door ; 
and  unto  thee  is  its  desire,  but  thou  mayest  rule  over  it."  * 
Here,  without  any  reference  to  the  sin  of  Adam  in  the  first 
generation,  the  man  of  the  second  generation  is  told  that 
he  is  free  to  choose  between  good  and  evil,  that  he  alone 
is  responsible  before  God  for  what  he  does  or  omits  to  do. 
This  certainly  indicates  that  the  moral  freedom  of  man  is 
not  impaired  by  hereditary  sin,  or  by  any  evil  power  outside 

»  See  Dillmann,  1.  c,  301  f.,  37s ;  J-  E.,  art.  Freedom  of  WUl. 
» Gen.  IV,  7. 

331 


I.  1 1 


'til 

i 


i-^ 


sraearit''! 


■•.■»»■»«—■  ■^a^KOi.-ai^^^rznKk-^ 


2.U 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


,:  i. 


of  man  himself.  This  principle  is  established  in  the  words  of 
Moses  sfMjki'n  in  the  name  of  GtMl :  "I  have  set  before  thee 
life  and  death,  the  blessing  and  the  curse ;  therefore  chiM)se 
life,  that  thou  mayest  live,  thou  and  thy  seed."  '  In  like 
manner  Jeremiah  proclaims  in  (iod's  name:  "Behold  I  set 
before  you  the  way  of  life  and  the  way  of  death."  ^ 

_V  From  these  passages  and  many  similar  ones  the  sages 
derived  their  oft-rtpeated  idea  that  man  stands  ever  at  the 
parting  of  the  ways,  to  choose  either  the  good  or  the  evil 
path.^  Thus  the  words  spoken  by  (lod  to  the  angels  when 
Adam  and  Kve  were  to  be  expelled  from  Faratlise:  "Behold, 
the  man  is  become  as  one  of  us,  to  know  good  anil  evil,"  arc 
interpreted  by  R.  Akiba :  "He  was  given  the  choice  to  go 
the  way  of  life  or  the  way  of  death,  but  he  chose  the  way  of 
death  by  eating  of  the  forbidden  fruit."*  R.  Akiba  empha- 
sizes the  principle  of  the  freedom  of  the  will  again  in  the  terse 
saying:  "All  things  are  foreseen  (by  God),  but  free  will  is 
granted  (to  man)."  ' 

4.  At  the  first  encounter  of  Judaism  with  those  philosophi- 
cal schools  of  Hellas  which  denied  the  freedom  of  the  human 
will,  the  Jewish  teachers  insisted  strongly  on  this  principle. 
The  first  reference  is  found  in  Ben  Sira,  who  refutes  the  ar- 
guments of  the  Determinists  that  God  could  make  man  sin, 
and  then  goes  on:  "God  created  man  at  the  beginning,  en- 
dowing him  with  the  power  of  self-determination,  saying  to 
him :  If  thou  but  wiliest,  thou  canst  observe  My  command- 
ments; to  practice  faithfulness  is  a  matter  of  free  will.  .  .  . 
As  when  fire  and  water  are  put  before  thee,  so  that  thou  may- 
est reach  forth  thy  hand  to  that  which  thou  desircst,  so  are 
life  and  death  placed  before  man,  and  whatever  he  chooses  of 

'  Deut.  XXX,  15-iq.  '  Jer.  XXI,  8. 

'See  Sifrc  Ueut.  53-54;  J.  K.,  art.  Didache. 

«  Ckn.  Ill,  22  ;  .Mek.  Beshallah  6 ;  Gen.  R.  XXI,  5 ;  Mid.  Teh.  Ps.  XXXVI, 
3;   LVIII,  2. 

•  Aboth  III,  15,  but  see  Schechter :  Aspects,  285,  note  4. 


I!l 


FREE  WILL  AND   MORAL   RESPONSIBII.ITY         2^^ 


'  t 


his  own  (k'sirc  will  be  giviii  to  hitn.  " '  The  Huok  ol  KnDch 
voices  this  truth  aU<»  in  thf  forn'ful  scnli'tucs:  "Sin  has  not 
been  sent  Ufion  thf  earth  (from  a'utvi),  but  nun  havf  pro- 
duced it  out  of  thcnisflvfs ;  thinfon-  they  who  commit  sin 
arc  comU-mned."  '^  Wc  read  similar  sculini'  iil>  in  thr  Psalms 
of  Solomon,  a  Thariscan  work  of  the  first  pri-C'hristian  cen- 
tury;' "Our  acti()ns  are  the  outctmie  of  the  free  choice  and 
power  of  our  own  soul ;  to  practice  justice  or  injustice  lies  in 
the  work  of  our  own  hands." 

The  AiK)calypse  oi  K/.ra  is  esix'cially  instructive  in  the 
great  stress  which  it  lays  on  freedom,  in  connection  with  its 
chief  theme,  the  sinfulness  of  the  chiUlren  of  Adam.  "This 
is  the  condition  of  the  contest  whit  h  man  who  is  1.  >rn  on  earth 
must  wage.  that,  if  he  be  conrjucred  by  the  evil  inclination, 
he  must  suffer  that  of  which  thou  hast  spoken  (the  tortures 
of  hell),  but  if  he  be  victorious,  he  shall  nceive  (the  reward) 
which  I  (the  angel)  have  mentioned.  For  this  is  the  way 
whereof  Moses  spoke  when  he  lived,  saying  unto  the  people, 
'Choose  life,  that  thou  mayest  live!'  .  .  .  For  all  who  knew 
Me  not  in  life  when  they  received  My  benefits,  who  des|)i.sed 
My  law  when  they  yet  had  freedom,  and  did  not  heed  tlie  door 
of  repentance  while  it  was  still  (){)en  before  them,  but  disre- 
garded it.  after  death  they  shall  come  to  know  it  I"  ' 

5.  Hellenistic  Judaism  also,  particularly  Philo.'^  considered 
the  truly  divine  in  man  to  be  his  free  will,  which  distinguishes 
him  from  the  beast.  Vet  Hellenistic  naturalism  could  not 
grasp  the  fact  that  man's  power  tt)  do  evil  in  opposition  to  God, 
the  Source  of  the  good,  is  the  greatest  reminder  of  his  moral 
responsibility.  Josephus  likewise  mentions  frequently  as  a 
characteristic  teaching  of  the  Pharisees  that  man's  free  will 


I 


'  Ben  Sira  XV,  1 1-20.  =  Enoch  XCVIII,  4. 

» IX,  7.  '  IV  Ezra  VII,  1:7-' 20;   IX,  lo-u. 

-  (,)uoii  lieus  iininulabi}i>,  lo,  i,  iivi   I-"  coniuiionc  iiPiguaraiii,  ^St  Ii  43^; 
Quod  detenus  potiori  insid,  32, 1,  214- 


834 


JFWISII  THEOLOGY 


'ft 


I  i 


it' 


iletcrmlncs  his  acts  without  any  compulsion  of  destiny.* 
Only  we  must  n«)t  accept  t«M>  easily  the  words  of  this  Jewish 
historian,  who  wrote  for  his  Roman  masters  and,  therefore, 
represented  the  Jewish  |)arties  as  so  many  pbil»)sophical  school* 
after  the  (ireek  pattern.  The  Fharisi-an  doctrine  is  presented 
most  tersely  in  the  Talmudic  ma.xim  :  "Kverything  is  in  the 
hands  of  Gmi  e.xcept  the  fear  oi  Gtxl."  '  Like  the  quotation 
from  R.  Akiba  above,  this  contains  the  great  truth  that  man's 
destiny  is  determined  by  fVovidence.  but  his  character  de- 
pends U{M)n  his  own  free  decision.  This  idea  recurs  fretjuently 
in  such  Talmudic  sayings  as  these:  "The  wicked  are  in  the 
power  of  their  desires ;  the  righteous  have  their  desires  in 
their  own  power;"'  "The  eye,  the  ear,  and  the  nostrils  are 
not  in  man's  [>ower,  but  the  mouth,  the  hand,  and  the  feet 
arc."  *  That  is,  the  impressions  we  receive  from  the  world 
without  us  come  involuntarily,  but  our  acts,  our  steps,  and 
our  words  arise  from  our  own  volition. 

6.  A  deeper  insight  into  the  problem  of  free  will  is  ofTered 
in  two  other  Talmudic  sayings;  the  c)ne  is:  "Whosoever 
desires  to  pollute  himself  with  sin  will  find  all  the  gates  open 
before  him,  and  whosoever  desires  to  attain  the  highest  purity 
will  find  all  the  forces  of  goodness  ready  to  help  him."  ■•  The 
other  reads:  "It  can  be  proved  by  the  Torah,  the  Prophets, 
and  the  other  sacred  writings  that  man  is  led  along  the  road 
which  he  wishes  to  follow."  • 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  person  is  absolutely  free,  for  in- 
numerable influences  atlect  his  decisions,  consciously  and 
unconsciously.  For  this  reason  many  thinkers,  both  ancient 
and  modern,  consider  freedom  a  delusion  and  hold  to  deter- 

'  Josephus,  J.  W.,  II,  8,  14 ;  Ant.  XVIII,  1,3.  '  Ber.  33  b. 

•  Gen.  K.  LXVII,  7.     Comp.  P.  k.  KJ.  XV. 

•  Tanh.  TofwJoth,  etf.  Hubcr,  21. 

•  Shab.  104  a;   Voma  38  b-3Q  a;  Ver.  Kief.  I,  67  d. 

'  Mak.  10  b;  rcf.  to  Ex.  XXI,  12;  Num.  XXII,  12;  Isa.  XLVIII,  17; 
Prov.  Ill,  34. 


P     '• 


} 

'if 


FREE  WILL  AND  MORAL  RESI»()\S1BILITY        JiS 


1 


h» 


i 

I 


minism,  the  dfKtrini-  that  m;in  acts  always  un<iir  the  cnm- 
pulsion  of  cxtfrnal  ami  intirnal  fonts.  In  op|>oHition  to  this 
theory  i»  «»nc  incontestable  fact,  our  own  inner  sense  of  free- 
(l»)m  which  tells  us  at  every  step  that  tir  have  acted,  and  at 
every  decision  that  we  have  «lei  ided.  Man  can  maintain  hi^ 
own  i)ower  of  self  determination  against  all  influences  fr«»tn 
without  and  within ;  his  will  is  the  iinal  arbiter  over  every 
impulse  and  every  pressure.  Moreover,  as  we  |H*netrate  more 
deeply  into  the  workins  of  the  mind,  we  see  that  a  long  series 
of  our  own  voluntary  acts  has  occasione<l  much  that  we  con- 
sider external,  that  the  very  [>ressure  of  the  past  on  our 
thouKhts.  feelings  and  habits,  which  Ic  ivcs  sci  little  weight  for 
the  decision  of  the  moment,  is  really  (  nly  our  past  will  influ- 
encing our  present  will.  That  is.  the  will  may  determine 
itself,  but  it  does  not  do  so  arbitrarily  ;  its  action  is  along  the 
lines  of  its  own  character.  We  have  the  |>owcr  to  receive  the 
influence  of  either  the  noble  or  the  ignoble  series  of  impres- 
sions, and  thus  to  yield  either  to  the  lofty  or  the  low  impulse- 
of  the  soul. 

In  this  way  the  rabbis  interpret  various  e.xpressions  of  Scrip- 
ture which  would  seem  to  limit  man's  freedom,  as  where  (iod 
induces  man  to  goml  or  evil  acts,  or  hardens  the  heart  of 
Pharaoh  so  that  he  will  not  let  the  Israelites  go.  until  the 
plagues  had  been  fulfilled  ujKjn  him  and  his  {x-ople.'  They 
understand  in  such  an  instance  that  a  manV  heart  has  a  pre- 
vailing inclination  toward  right  or  wrong,  the  expression  of 
his  character,  and  that  (iod  encouraged  thi>  im  lination  al(»ng 
the  evil  course ;  thus  the  freedom  of  the  human  will  was  kept 
intact. 

7.  The  doctrine  of  man's  free  will  presents  another  difliculty 
from  the  side  of  divine  omnisciince.     For  if  God  knows  in 

'  Ex.  IV,  21 ;  VII,  3,  and  elsewhere;  sec  the  Je.vish  commentaries  to  these 
passages.     CtJiiip.  Its.   163  a,    Nuni.  k.  a\  ,   10.     occ    ocnccTtcr,  A^pcm, 


aj6 


jKWisn  TUKcH.ntiY 


n 


m 


i 


iii 


advance  what  h  to  ha|)|K'n.  thrn  m.m'n  act*  arc  dctrrmine*! 
by  this  very  fDrrknowlidKf  ,  hr  is  no  longer  free,  and  his  moral 
rcsfxtnsihility  fwcnmc*  nn  idle  «lr»'am.  In  onli-r  to  fMajw 
this  dilrmma.  the  Mohamnw'fl.in  ihi"  'ogianH  were  n»m|M'lli'd 
to  limit  cither  the  divine  umiiiMictit*  or  human  frcrtlom,  and 
most  of  them  re:.orted  to  llu-  iitirr  niethiKJ  It  is  charac- 
teri>«lic  i-f  Judaism  that  its  great  thinkers,  from  S  ladia  to  Mai 
monides  and  (ierHonidc-s.'  «|are<|  not  alter  the  d«u  trine  of  man's 
free  will  and  moral  r«Hpunsil»ility,  hut  even  preferred  to  linut 
the  divine  omniMJcnif  lli^dai  ('rrs«as  is  the  only  one  tore- 
strict  human  freedom  in  favor  <il  the  foreknow !rdj;e  of  Chh\} 
8.  The  in^'i^tence  of  Jutlaism  on  unrestricted  freedom  of 
will  for  each  individual  entirely  exclutles  here<li»ary  sin.  Thin 
Is  shown  in  the  traditional  explanation  of  the  .erse  of  the 
Decalogue:  "Visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  u|H)n  the 
children  unto  the  third  and  f«)urth  generation  of  them  that 
hate  Mc."  '  According  to  the  rahhis  the  words  "of  them  that 
hate  Me"  do  not  refer  to  the  fathers,  aidirding  to  the  plain 
meaning  of  the  passage,  hut  to  the  children  and  children's 
children.  These  are  to  be  punished  only  when  they  hate  ()<«! 
and  follow  the  evil  example  of  their  fathers  '  Despite  ex- 
ample and  hereditary  disfM)>,ition.  the  descendants  of  evil- 
doers (all  lead  a  virtuous  life,  and  their  punishment  comes 
only  when  they  fail  to  resist  the  evil  influences  of  their  pa- 
rental household.  To  illustrate  the  HiI)Ii(  al  words,  "  Who  can 
bring  a  dean  thing  out  of  an  unclean?"  '  the  rabbis  single 
out  Abraham,  the  son  of  Terah,  He/ekiah.  the  son  of  Ahaz, 
and   Josiah.  the   son   of    Manasseh."     Man,  being   made   in 

'Saadia:  Emunolh,  IH,  154;  IV,  7  f . ;  Hahy.i:  lloh.ilh  k,il,hoboth,  \l\,  8; 
Cuzari,  V,  ao;  Morrh  I,  2S;  HI.  ">;  If-  r/v,',.<'i.  V,  (icrM).niilfs :  Milhamoth, 
III,  io<);  AHm):  //tiunw,  IV,  s-io;  see  Ca.ss(-     .itis,  C'ic./r/.  p.  414. 

'Cr  Adonai  II,  4;  comp  Ulinh ;  W'iilrnureihni  dex  Undai  Crrscas; 
Neumark  ;  Crruas  and  Spinoza,  V.  H.  C.  C".  A    K.  njoH. 

•Kx.  XX,  5.  «  Sanh.  -' ,- b. 

•  Job  XIV,  4.  •  I'^ilt  29  b. 


I    t 


I    ! 


1  ■ :«, 


FRKK   WIl.l,   AND   MORAL   RESPDNSIBILITV         2\7 

Gcxi's  'maKf,  ticlirmiru'!*  his  »)wn  ihar;utfi  by  hin  own  fr  w 
ihoicr;  by  hin  will  he  can  t-mm.-  ur  Utvxr  himM-U  in  ihc  Male 

uf  i^'iriK 

g    Viu   lunclanu'Mtal  (h;irartiT  «>(  ihr  cltKlrinc  of  (riT  will 
(or  Judaism  is    h«>wn  by  MaimoniiU-H,  who  ik-votes  a  s|m'u.iI 
thaptt-r  of  hi>  C«kIc  to  il.'  ami  talh  it  the-  pillar  of  I^ratl'^ 
faith  ami  m«.raK     ,  sinn-  ihrouuh  it  alone  man  nu»nifc"^t^  his 
gtHl-likr  M.viTiinnty.     F«»r  >hoult|  hi.  frcrtlom  In-  limiinl  by 
any  kimi  of  [)rt(|t-,tination,  he  wouM  be  lUprived  of  hi^  iti'      t 
re^|K)nsibility.  whiih  lon^titules  his  real  Kreatne>H      In  en- 
<lea'' .ring  to  recontile  liiMl's  omni|H)tena'  ami  omniMiencc 
with  man's  free<h>in,  Maimoni«les  siiy>  that  (i.nl  want-,  man  to 
erect  a  kinnilom  of  morality  without  inlerferente  fron)  above; 
moreover.   (i.Ml's  knowK-.lKe  is  dilTerent    in  kind   fr.>m   that 
«»f  man.  an<l  thus  is  not  an  infringement  upon  mail's  freedom, 
as    the    human    type    of    knnwUtiKe    wt)u!<l    be.     However, 
Abraham  ben   David  of  Postjuieres  blames  Maimoni<les  fi>r 
proposing  (juestions  which  he  could  not  answer  satisfactorily 
in  the  ('o<lc,  which  Is  intended  for  mm  philosophiial  readers. 
The  fact  is  that  this  is  only  another  of  the  problems  insoluble 
to  human  reasoning;    the  freetlom  of  the  will  must  remain 
for  all  lime  a  [Hjstulatc  of  moral  responsibility,  and  therefore 
of  re'igion. 

•  //.  Teshubah,  V. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 


*.  *■ 


\\V  i 


if   t 


The  Meaning  of  Sin 

1,  Sin  is  a  religious  conception.  It  does  not  signify  a 
breach  of  law  or  morality,  or  of  popular  custom  a.id  sacred 
usage,  but  an  offense  against  God,  provoking  His  punishment. 
As  long  as  the  deity  is  merely  dreaded  as  an  external  power, 
not  adored  as  a  moral  power  ruling  life  from  within  for  a 
holy  purpose,  sin,  too,  is  considered  a  purely  formal  offense. 
The  deity  demands  to  be  worshiped  by  certain  rites  a,  may 
be  propitiated  by  other  formal  acts.'  For  Judaism,  however, 
sin  is  a  straying  from  the  path  of  God,  an  offense  against  the 
divine  order  of  holiness.  Thus  it  signifies  an  abuse  of  the 
freedom  granted  man  as  his  most  precious  Loon.  Therefore 
sin  has  a  twofuld  character ;  formally  it  is  an  offense  against 
the  majesty  of  God,  whose  laws  are  broken ;  essentially  it  is 
a  severance  of  the  soul's  inner  relations  to  God,  an  estrange- 
ment from  Him. 

2.  Scripture  has  three  different  terms  for  sin,  which  do  not 
differ  greatly  in  point  of  language,  but  indicate  three  stages 
of  thought.  First  is  hcl  or  Initaah,  which  connotes  any 
straying  from  the  right  path,  whether  caused  by  levity,  care- 
lessness, or  design,  and  may  even  include  wrongs  committed 
unwittingly,  shcgagah.  Second  is  avon,  a  crookedness  or 
perversion  of  the  straight  order  of  the  law.  Thiid  is  pesha, 
a  wicked  act  committed  presumptuously  in  defian.-e  of  God 
and  His  law.      As  a  matter  of  course,  the  conception  of 

>  See  Morgenstem,  "  The  Doctrine  of  Sin  in  the  Babylonian  Religion,"  in 
Millh.  Vorderas.  Gcsciisch.  1905. 

238 


THE   MEANINd  OI     SI\ 


2.?Q 


sin  was  deepened  by  degrees,  as  the  prophets,  psalmists  and 
moralists  grew  to  think  of  (lod  as  the  pattern  of  the  highest 
moral  perfection,  as  the  H«)ly  One  before  whom  an  evil  act  or 
thought  cannot  abide. 

The  rabbis  usually  employed  the  term  abera'i,  that  is,  a 
transgression  of  a  divine  commandment.  In  contrast  to 
this  they  used  milrtvah.  a  divine  command,  which  denotes 
also  the  whole  range  of  duty,  including  the  desire  and  intention 
of  the  human  soul.  From  this  point  of  view  every  evil  de- 
sign or  impulse,  every  thought  and  act  c(mtrary  to  God's 
law,  becomes  a  sin. 

3.  Sin  arises  from  the  weakness  of  the  flesh,  the  desire  of 
the  heart,  and  accordingly  in  the  first  instance  from  an  error 
of  judgment.  The  Bil)le  frequently  speaks  of  sin  as  "folly."  • 
A  rabbinical  saying  brings  out  this  .same  idea:  "  No  one  sins 
unless  the  spirit  of  folly  has  entered  into  him  to  deceive  him."  ^ 
A  sinful  imagination  lures  one  to  sin ;  the  repetition  of  the 
forbidden  act  lowers  the  barrier  of  the  commandment,  until 
the  trespass  is  hardened  into  "callous"  and  "stubborn"  dis- 
regard, and  finally  into  "reckless  defiance"  and  "insolent 
godlessness."  Such  a  process  is  graphically  expressed  by  the 
various  terms  used  in  the  Bible.  According  to  the  rabbinical 
figure,  "sin  appears  at  first  as  thin  as  a  spider's  web,  but  grows 
stronger  and  stronger,  until  it  becomes  like  a  wagon-rope  to 
bind  a  man."  Or,  "sin  comes  at  first  as  a  passer-by  to  tarry 
for  a  moment,  then  as  a  visitor  to  stay,  finally  as  the  master 
of  the  house  to  claim  possession."  Therefore  it  is  incumbent 
upon  us  to  "guard"  the  heart,  and  not  "to  go  astray  follow- 
ing after  our  eyes  and  our  heart." ' 

4.  According  to  the  doctrine  of  Judaism  no  one  is  sinful 
by  nature.     No  person  sins  by  an  inner  compulsion.     But 


»  Gen.  VI,  3 ;   Ps.  LXXVIII,  3<)  '  Sota  3  a. 

•  Suk.  52  a,  b.  Comp.  Schechter,  "The  F:vil  Yezer,  Source  of  Rebellion  and 
Victory  over  the  Evil  Vezer,""  1.  c,  ^4^-292. 


."f 


■h 


340 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


as  man  has  a  nature  of  flesh,  which  is  sensuous  and  selfish, 
each  person  is  inclined  to  sin  and  none  is  perfectly  free  from 
it.     "Who  can  say :  I  have  made  my  heart  clean,  I  am  pure 
from  any  sin?"  '     This  is  the  voice  of  the  Bible  and  of  all 
human  experience;   "For  there  is  not  a  righteous  man  upon 
earth,  that  doeth  good,  and  sinneth  not."  ^    The  expression 
occurs  repeatedly  in  Job:   "Shall  mortal  man  be  just  before 
God?    Shall  a  man  be  pure  before  his  Maker?"'     Even 
Moses  is  represented  in  numerous  passages  as  showing  human 
foibles  and  failings.*     In  fact,  "  the  greater  the  personality, 
the  more  severely  will  God  call  him  to  account  for  the  smallest 
trespass,  for  God  desires  to  be  'sanctified'  by  His  righteous 
ones."  *    The  Midrash  tells  us  that  no  one  is  in  be  called 
holy,  until  death  has  put  an  end  to  his  struggle  with  the  ever- 
lurking  tempter  within,  and  he  lies  in  the  earth  with  the 
victor's  crown  of  peace  upon  his  brow.'    When  we  read  the 
stem  sentence:    "Behold,  He  putteth  no  trust  in  His  holy 
ones,"  ^  the  rabbis  refer  us  to  the  patriarchs,  each  of  whom 
had  his  faults.-*    Measured  by  the  Pattern  of  all  holiness,  no 
human  being  is  free  from  blemish. 

5.  In  connection  with  the  God-idea,  the  conception  of 
sin  grew  irom  crude  beginnings  to  the  higher  meaning  given 
it  by  Judaism.  The  ancient  Babylonians  used  the  same 
terminology  as  the  Bible  for  sin  and  sin-offering,  but  their 
view,  like  that  of  other  Semites,  was  far  more  external.'  If 
one  was  afflicted  with  disease  or  misfortune,  the  inference 
was  that  he  had  neglected  the  ritual  of  some  deity  ana  must 
appease  the  angered  one  with  a  sacrificial  offering.  Any  ir- 
regularity in  the  cult  was  an  offense  against  the  deity.  This 
became  more  moralized  with  the  iiigher  God-idea;   the  god 


1: ' 


«  Prov.  XX,  9.  ''  Eccl.  VII,  20. 

» Job  IV,  17 ;  XV,  14  f ;  XXV,  5.  *  Num.  XX,  12 ;  XXVII,  14. 

'  Yeb.  121  b.  •  Mid.  Teh.  Ps.  XVI.  2. 

» Job  XV,  15.  •  Midr.  Teh.  eodem.  » Moirgenstem, ..  c. 


\it'i  ^•ir-''vnmir 


<u*«3y«B^tigetK«.  '■r^r' 


THE  MEANING  OF  SIN 


241 


Oecamc  the  guardian  of  moral  principles ;  and  the  calamities, 
even  of  the  nation,  were  then  ascribed  to  the  divine  wrath  on 
account  of  moral  lapses.  The  same  process  may  be  observed 
in  the  views  of  ancient  Isri'el.  Here,  too,  during  the  domi- 
nance of  the  priestly  view  the  gravest  possible  offense  was 
one  against  the  cult,  a  culpable  act  entailing  the  death  pen- 
alty—  as/mm,  or  "doom"  of  the  offender.  We  shudder  at 
the  thought  that  the  least  violation  of  the  hierarchical  rules 
for  the  sanctuary  or  even  for  the  burning  of  incense  should 
meet  the  penalty  of  death.  Yet  such  is  the  plain  statement  of 
the  Mosaic  law  and  such  was  the  actual  i)ractice  of  the  people.' 
The  more  the  pr,)phetic  conception  of  the  moral  nature  of 
the  Deity  permeated  the  Jewish  religion,  the  more  the  term 
sin  came  to  m.ean  an  offense  against  the  holiness  of  God.  the 
Guardian  of  morality.  Hence  the  great  prophets  upbraided 
the  people  for  their  moral,  not  their  ceremonial  failings.  They 
attacked  scathingly  transgressions  of  the  laws  of  righteousness 
and  purity,  the  true  sins  against  God,  because  these  originate 
in  dullness  of  heart,  unbridled  passion,  and  overbearing 
pride,  all  so  hateful  to  Him.  The  only  ritual  offenses  empha- 
sized as  sins  against  God  are  idolatry,  violation  of  the  name 
of  God  and  of  the  Sabbath,  for  thesp  express  the  sanctity  of 
life.2  Except  for  these  points,  the  prophets  and  psalmists 
insisted  only  on  righteous  conduct  and  integrity  of  soul,  and 
repudiated  entirely  the  ritualism  of  the  priesthood  and  the 
formalism  of  the  cult.'  This  view  is  anticipated  by  Samuel, 
the  master  of  the  prophetic  schools,  when  he  says : 

"  Behold,  IG  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice, 
And  to  hearken  than  the  fat  of  rams. 
For  rebellion  is  as  the  sin  of  witchcraft, 
And  1  tubbornness  is  as  idolatry  and  teraphim."  * 

«  Ex.  XXX,  J3,  j8;   Lev.  X,  2;   XVI,  1-2;   Num.  XVII,  28;   XVIII,  7. 

»  Ezek.  XVIII,  6  f.;  XX,  i?  f . ;   Isa.  "  VT,  2  f. 

»  Hos.  M,  6;   Mic.  VI,  8;  I^s.  I,  1 1  f  "I  Sam.  XV,  22-23. 

R 


•i.^'ntf-^Ma^ 


I 


Ih 


mi 


1   ' 


I 


Li* 


I. A 


m 


a^a  JEWISH  THEOLOGY 

As  soon  as  we  realize  that  obedience  to  God's  will  means 
right  conduct  and  purity  of  soul,  we  see  in  sin  the  desecra- 
tion of  the  divine  image  in  man,  the  violation  of  his  heavenly 
patent  of  nobility. 

6.   Sin,  then,  is  in  its  essence  unfaithfulness  to  God  and  to 
our  own  god-like  nature.    We  see  this  thought  expressed  in 
Job : ' 
"  If  thou  hast  sinned,  what  doest  thou  against  Him  ? 

And  if  thy  transgressions  be  multiplied,  what  doest  thou  unto  Him? 

If  thou  be  righteous,  what  givesl  thou  unto  Him? 

Or  what  receivclh  He  of  thy  hand  ? 

Thy  wickedness  conccrncth  a  man  as  thou  art ; 

And  thy  righteousness  a  son  of  man." 

Thus  the  source  of  sin  is  the  human  heart,  the  origin  of  all 
our  thinking  and  planning.  We  know  sin  chiefly  as  con- 
sciousness of  guilt.  Man's  conscience  accuses  him  and  com- 
pels him  to  confess, "  Against  Thee.  Thee  only,  have  I  sinned.'" 
Not  only  the  deed  itself,  but  even  more  the  will  which  caused 
it,  is  condemned  by  conscience.  Such  self-accusation  con- 
stantly proves  anew  that  there  is  no  place  for  original  sin 
through  the  fall  of  Adam.  "  I  could  have  controlled  my  evil 
desire,  if  I  had  but  earnestly  willed  it,"  said  King  David,  ac- 
cording to  the  Talmud.' 

7.  Sin  engenders  a  feeling  of  disunion  with  God  through 
the  consciousness  of  guilt  which  accompanies  it.  It  erects 
a  "wall  of  separation"  between  man  and  his  Maker,  depriv- 
ing him  of  peace  and  security.*  Guilt  causes  pain,  which 
overwhelms  him,  until  he  has  made  atonement  and  obtained 
pardon  before  God.  This  is  no  imaginaiy  feeling,  easily  over- 
come and  capable  of  being  suppressed  by  the  sinner  with  mi- 
punitv.  Instead,  he  must  pay  the  full  penalty  for  his  sin, 
lest  it  lead  him  to  the  very  abyss  of  evil,  to  physical  and  moral 
death.  Sin  in  the  individual  becomes  a  sense  of  self-con- 
»  Job  XXXV,  6-8.  »Ps.LI,6.         'Sanh.  107  a.         Hsa.  LIX,  2. 


THE  MEANING  OF  SIN 


243 


demnation,  the  consciousness  of  the  divine  anger.  Hence  the 
Hebrew  term  avon,  sin,  is  often  synonymous  with  punishment,* 
and  asham,  Kuilt,  often  signifies  the  atonement  for  the  guilt, 
and  sometimes  doom  and  perdition  as  a  consequence  of 
guilt.*  Undoubtedly  this  still  contains  a  remnant  of  the  old 
Semitic  idea  that  an  awful  divine  visitation  may  come  upon 
an  entire  household  or  community  because  of  a  criminal  or 
sacrile;;ious  act  committed,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  by 
one  of  its  members.  Such  a  fate  can  be  averted  only  by  an 
atoning  sacrifice.  This  accords  with  the  rather  strange  fact 
that  thf  Priestly  Code  prescribes  certain  guilt  offerings  for 
sins  committed  unwittingly,  which  are  called  asham.' 

8.  But  even  these  unintentional  sins  can  be  avoided  by 
the  constant  exercise  of  caution,  so  that  their  commission 
implies  a  certain  degree  of  guilt,  which  demands  a  measure  of 
repentance.  Thus  the  Psalmist  says:  "Who  can  discern 
errors?  Clear  Thou  me  from  hidden  faults."*  He  thus 
implies  that  we  feel  responsible  in  a  certain  sense  for  all  our 
sins,  including  those  which  we  commit  unknowingly.  The 
rabbis  dwell  especially  on  the  idea  that  we  are  never  altogether 
free  from  sinful  thoughts.  For  this  reason,  they  tell  us,  the 
two  burnt  offerings  were  brought  to  the  altar  each  morning 
and  evening,  to  atone  for  the  sinful  thoughts  of  the  people 
during  the  preceding  day  or  night.' 

9.  At  any  rate,  Judaism  recognizes  no  sin  which  does  not 
arise  from  the  individual  conscience  or  moral  personality. 
The  condemnation  of  a  whole  generation  or  race  in  conse- 
quence of  the  sin  of  a  single  individual  is  an  essentially  heathen 
idea,  which  was  overcome  by  Judaism  in  the  course  of  time 
through  the  prophetic  teaching  of  the  divine  justice  and  man's 
moral  responsibility.     This  sentiment  was  voiced  by  Moses 


'  den.  IV,  13;  XV,  16;  XIX,  15;  Ps.  XL,  13. 
«Gen.  XXVI,  10;  XLII,  21;  Ps.  XXXIV,  22. 
» Lev.  IV,  13  f. ;  Num.  V,  0.  •  Ps.  XIX,  13. 


•  Num.  R.  XXI,  19. 


'  j 


244 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


<rr  I. 


i'    i: 


and  Aaron  after  the  rebellion  of  Korah  in  the  words:  "0 
God,  the  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,  shall  one  man  sin, 
and  wilt  Thou  be  wroth  with  all  the  congregation?"*  In 
commenting  upon  this,  the  Midrash  says:  "A  human  king 
may  make  war  upon  a  whole  province,  because  it  contains 
rebels  who  have  caused  sedition,  and  so  the  innocent  must 
suffer  together  with  the  guilty ;  but  it  does  not  behoove  God, 
the  Ruler  of  the  spirits,  who  looks  into  the  hearts  of  men,  to 
punish  the  guiltless  together  with  the  guilty." '  The  Chris- 
tian view  of  universal  guilt  as  a  consequence  of  Adam's  sin, 
the  dogma  of  original  sin,  is  actually  a  relapse  from  the 
Jewish  stage  to  the  heathen  doctrine  from  which  the  Jewish 
religion  freed  itself. 

ID.  According  to  the  Biblical  view  sin  contaminates  man, 
so  that  he  cannot  stand  in  the  presence  of  God.  The  holiness 
of  Him  who  is  "of  eyes  too  pure  to  behold  evil"  »  becomes  to 
the  sinner  "  a  devouring  fire."  *  Even  the  lofty  prophet  Isaiah 
realizes  his  own  human  limitations  at  the  sublime  vision  of 
the  God  of  holiness  enthroned  on  high,  while  the  angelic 
choruses  chant  their  thrice  holy.  In  humility  and  contrition 
he  cries  out:  "Woe  is  me,  for  I  am  undone!  Because  I  am 
a  man  of  unclean  lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  a  people  of 
unclean  lips ;  For  mine  eyes  have  seen  the  King,  the  Lord  of 
hosts." '  The  prophet  must  undergo  atonement  in  order  to 
be  prepared  for  his  high  prophetic  task.  One  of  the  Seraphs 
purges  him  of  his  sins  by  touching  his  lips  with  a  live  coal 
taken  from  the  altar  of  God. 

Under  the  influence  of  Persian  dualism,  rabbinical  Judaism 
considers  sin  a  pollution  which  puts  man  under  the  power  of 
unclean  spirits.'  In  the  later  Cabbalah  this  idea  is  elabo- 
rated until  the  world  of  sin  is  considered  a  cosmic  power  of 
impurity,  opposed  to  the  realm  of  right,  working  evil  ever 

'  Num.  XVI,  ii.  » Tanh.  Korah,  cH.  Br.hpr,  t.-).  •  Habak.  I.  n- 

♦  Isa.  XXXIII,  14.        *  Isa.  VI,  5-7.  •  Pes.  4S  •>;  Gen.  R.  XXIII,  9. 


?«ss*B?gH«f#i!^"i<a«L  • 


-.»c 


i.agtc?i*:aafwm*f?:ajfc's 


Jt^ 


THE  MEANING  OF  SIN 


245 


since  the  fall  of  Adam.*  Still,  however  close  this  may  come 
to  the  Christian  dogma,  it  never  becomes  identical  with  it ; 
the  recognition  is  always  preserved  of  man's  j)ower  to  extri- 
cate himself  from  the  realm  of  impurity  and  to  elevate  himself 
into  the  realm  of  purity  by  his  own  repentance.  Sin  never 
becomes  a  demoniacal  power  depnving  man  of  his  divine 
dignity  of  self-determination  and  condemning  him  to  eternal 
damnation.  It  ever  remains  merely  a  going  astray  from  the 
right  path,  a  stumbling  from  which  man  may  rise  again  to 
his  heavenly  height,  exerting  his  own  powers  as  the  son  of 
God. 

•  See  J.  E.,  art.  Cabala;  Abdson,  Jeuish  Mystkism,  p.  127  f.,  171  f. 


jmsKP:^ 


:»i!i.i^R^Mi^abi5PS&i£:K'^3fira'fi-:^vi^?>i>^^ 


^r 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 


i  \ 


11'    ' 


Repentance  or  the  Rkturn  to  God 

I.  The  briRhtcst  gem  among  the  teachings  of  Judaism  is 
its  doctrine  of  repentance  or.  in  its  own  characteristic  term, 
the  return  of  the  wayward  sinner  to  God.'    Man,  full  of  re- 
morse at  having  fallen  away  from  the  divine  Fountainhead 
of  purity,  conscious  of  deserving  a  sentence  of  condemnation 
from  the  eternal  Judge,  would  be  less  happy  than  the  unrea- 
soning brute  which  cannot  sin  at  all.     Religion  restores  him 
by  the  power  to  rise  from  his  shame  and  guilt,  to  return  to 
God  in  repentance,  as  the  penitent  son  returns  to  his  father. 
Whether  we  regard  sin  as  estrangement  from  God  or  as  a 
disturbance  of  the  divine  order,  it  has  a  detrimental  effect 
on  both  body  and  soul,  and  leads  inevitably  to  death.     On 
this  point  the  Bible  affords  many  historical  illustrations  and 
doctrinal  teachings.'    If  man  had  no  way  to  escape  from  sin, 
then  he  would  be  the  most  unfortunate  of  creatures,  in  spite 
of  his  god-like  nature.    Therefore  the  merciful  God  opens  the 
gate  of  repentance  for  the  sinner,  saying  as  through  His  proph- 
.  fs  of  old:  "I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked, 
but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live." ' 

2.  The  great  value  of  the  gift  of  divine  grace,  by  which 
the  sinner  may  repent  and  return  to  God  \vith  a  new  spirit,  ap- 

'See  J.  E.,  art.  Repentance;  Claude  Montefiore:  "Rabbinical  Concep- 
tions of  Repentance,"  in  J.  Q.  R.,  Jan.  i<;04,  Schechter,  Aspects,  313-343- 
The  works  of  Weber  (p.  j6i  f),  Bousset  (p.  44''  f ).  and  Davidson  0-  c,  iiT 
338)  do  not  do  justice  to  the  Jewish  teachings. 

>  Ezek.  XVIII.  i  I   Ps.  XXXIV,  21 ;  Prov.  XIV.  12. 

»  Ezek.  XVIII,  32  i  XXXIII,  11. 

346 


■blSSTmAV..    '.-sea. 


REPENTANCE  OR  THE  RETURN  TO  GOD 


247 


;# 


pears  i  the  following  rabbinical  sayinR  :  "  VVis<U)m  was  asked, 
'  What  shall  be  the  sinner's  punishment  'f  '  and  answered, '  Evil 
pursues  sinners*;'  then  Prophecy  was  asked,  and  answered, 
'The  soul  that  sinncth.  it  sliall  die' ; '  the  Torah.  or  legal  code, 
was  consulted,  and  its  answer  was:  'He  shall  bring  a  sin-of- 
fering, and  the  priest  shall  make  atonement  for  him,  and 
he  shall  be  forgiven.'*  Finally  God  Himself  was  asked,  and 
He  answered :  *  '  Ciood  and  upright  is  the  Lord  ;  therefore 
doth  He  instruct  sinners  in  the  way.'"  *  The  Jewish  idea  of 
atonement  by  the  sinner's  return  to  God  excludes  every  kind 
of  mediatorship.  Neither  the  priesthood  nor  sacritke  is 
necessary  to  secure  the  divine  grace;  man  need  only  find 
the  way  to  God  by  his  own  efforts.  "Seek  ye  Me,  and  live,"  • 
says  God  to  His  erring  children. 

3.  Teshubah,  which  means  return,  is  an  idea  peculiar  to 
Judaism,  created  by  the  prophets  of  Israel,  and  arising  di- 
rectly from  the  simple  Jewish  conception  of  sin.  Since  sin  is 
a  deviation  from  the  path  of  salvation,  a  "  straying  "  into  the 
road  of  perdition  and  death,  the  erring  can  return  with  heart 
and  soul,  end  his  ways,  and  thus  change  hi-  entire  being. 
This  is  not  properly  exjiressed  by  the  term  repentance,  which 
denotes  only  regret  for  the  wrong,  but  not  the  inner  trans- 
formation. Nor  is  Teshubah  to  be  rendered  by  either  i>eni- 
tcnce  or  penance.  The  former  indicates  a  sort  of  bodily 
self-castigation,  the  latter  some  other  kind  of  penalty  under- 
gone in  order  to  expiate  sin.  Such  external  forms  iif  asceti- 
cism were  prescribed  and  practiced  by  nian\  tribes  and  some 
of  the  historical  religions.  The  Jewish  prophets,  however, 
opposed  them  bitterly,  demanding  an  inner  change,  a  trans- 
formation of  soul,  renewing  both  heart  and  spirit. 


«Prov.  XIII,  Ji. 
•Lev.  I,  4;  IV,  26-31. 
•Vfr   M.ik   11,37  d;   Pesik. 
•  .\mos  V,  4. 


158  b. 


« Ezek.  XVIII,  4. 
♦  Ps.  XXV,  8. 

See  Schechter.  1.  c  .  p  ?04,  note  i. 


I 


i  *'iTir-2t*  • 


It 


♦  ' 

i  , 


^1 


t  > 


i        '•: 


It 


a48 


JEWISH  THEOLCKiY 


"Lei  the  wkkcd  fonakc  hi»  way, 
Ami  ihc  man  of  iniquity  his  ihought-t; 
An(i  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord,  and  He  will  have  compassion  upon 

him, 
And  to  our  ChhI,  (or  He  will  abundantly  pardon,"  ' 

JudaiMmconsiilcrsslnmcrtl.  moral  aberration,  not  utter  corrup- 
tion, and  believes  in  the  capability  of  the  very  worst  of  sinners 
to  improve  his  ways ;  therefore  it  waits  ever  for  his  rej^eneration. 
This  iH  truly  a  return  to  (hmI,  the  restoration  of  the  divine 
ima^e  which  has  Iwen  disfigured  and  corrupted  by  sin, 

4.  The  doctrine  of  Teshuhah,  or  the  return  of  the  sinner, 
has  a  specially  instructive  history,  as  this  most  precious  and 
unique  conception  of  Judiii^m  is  little  understo<xl  or  ap- 
preciated by  Christian  thcoloRians.  Often  without  intentional 
bias,  these  are  so  under  the  influence  of  the  Paulinian  do^ma 
that  they  sec  no  redemption  for  man  corrupted  by  sin,  ex(  ept 
by  his  belief  in  a  superhuman  act  of  atonement.  It  is  cer- 
tainly sij^nificant  that  the  legal  cwie,  which  is  of  priestly  origin, 
does  not  mention  repentance  or  the  sinner's  return.  It  pre- 
scribes various  types  of  sin-ofTerings,  speaks  of  reparation  for 
wrong  inflicted,  of  penalties  for  crime,  and  of  confession  for 
sins,  but  it  docs  not  state  how  the  soul  can  be  purged  of  sin, 
so  that  man  can  rep  1  in  his  former  state  of  purity.  This  great 
gap  is  filled  by  the  prophetic  books  and  the  Psalms.  The 
book  of  Deuteronomy  alone,  written  under  prophetic  influ- 
ence, alludes  to  repentance,  in  connection  with  the  time  when 
Israel  would  be  taken  captive  from  its  land  as  punishment 
for  its  violation  of  the  law.  There  we  read:  "Thou  shalt 
return  unto  the  Lord  thy  God.  .  .  .  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
all  thy  soul,  then  the  Lord  thy  God  will  turn  thy  captivity, 
and  have  compassion  upon  thee."  * 

Amos,  the  prophet  of  stern  justice,  has  not  yet  reached  the 
idea  of  averting  the  divine  wrath  bv  the  return  of  the  sinner.* 


» Isa.  LV,  7. 


«Deut.  IV,  30;  XXX,  2-3. 


« Amos  IV,  6  f. 


,  li 


Vi 


wwm 


xmi 


REI'KNTAN(  E  OR    THE   RETURN   TO  (iOD 


J49 


Hos^a,  the  prophet  of  divine  mercy  and  lovinw  kitulncw,  in 
his  deep  .  ompa-ision  for  thf  unfaithful  utul  hai  kslidinn  jH-ople. 
became  the  preacher  of  repentance  a«*  the  condition  for  at- 
taining tin  divine  pardon. 

"kftum.O  Inr..!,  iinio  the  I^t  I  thy  (lo<l; 
For  ihou  hasi  siuml>lt<l  in  ihiiu-  iniquity. 
Take  with  you  words  (.of  ri|KniaJiic), 
Ami  ri'iurn  unto  thi*  l^>r«l , 
Say  unto  Him,    Forgive  all  iniquity, 
And  accept  that  whic  h  i^  j<<kmI  , 
So  will  wi  render  for  bulliKk*  the  ofTering  of  our  lijw    ' ' 

The  apiK'ul  of  Jeremiah  is  still  more  viKor»)Us : 

"Return,  thou  backstlidinR  I-«racl,  "*aiih  the  Lord.      .  . 
Only  acknowl'  dge  thine  initiuity,  that  thou  hast  transgressed  against 

the  Lord  thy  (itxi.      .  . 
Hreak  up  for  you  a  fallow  gri>un<l,  and  sow  not  among  thorns  . 
O  Jerusalem,   wash  thy     i-art    from  wickedness,  that    thou    mayest 

be  saveit ; 
Ifow  long  shall  thy  baleful  thoughts  Kxlge  within  thee?  .  .  . 
Return  ye  now  ever     one  from  his  evil  way,  and  amend  your  ways 

and  your  doings.  ' ' 

Ezekiel,  while  cmphasi/.in«  the  guilt  of  the  individual, 
preached  repentatue  still  more  insistently.  "Return  ye.  and 
turn  yourselves  from  all  >'>ur  transjjressions ;  so  sh.iU  they 
not  be  a  stumblinn-block  of  inifjuity  to  you.  Cast  away  from 
you  all  your  transgressions,  wherein  ye  ha'>e  transgressed ; 
and  make  you  a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit ;  for  why  will 
ye  die,  O  liouse  of  Isr  lel  ?  For  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death 
of  him  that  (Hoth.  -.  alh  the  Lord  (mmI  ;  wherefore  turn  your- 
-i'lves.  and  live  "*  The  same  appeal  recurs  after  the  exile 
in  the  last  prophets.  Zcchanah*  and  Malachi.*  The  latter 
says  :   "  Return  unto  Me  and  I  shall  return  unto  you."     Like- 

>Ho».VI.  I,  XIV,  2  f.  »J^r   I".  u-'3;  IV,  j;   14.  XVIII,  11. 

•  Ezek.  XVm,  i-3»-  * /^b.  I,  3  »  Mai.  lit,  ,. 


.j^;»^..^iV.^ 


si 


150 


JEWISH   THEOLCK.Y 


•mi 


wi)»c  the  penitential  sermon  written  in  a  time  «>l  Rrcat  dlstrwi, 
which  is  a«itril)ct:  to  the  prophet  Joel,  contains  the  ai»|ral 

"Turn  yc  uuid  Me  with  all  your  heart. 
Ami  with  lasting,  and  with  *rrpinu,  anil  wiih  lamentation, 
Ami  rend  your  hrart,  ami  n«)t  your  garmenn, 
Ami  turn  unto  the  Lord  your  (kkI  . 
For  He  it  gracious  and  tom|a»sionate, 
I.  jng  '♦uflerintJ.  »'>d  ahuml.mi  in  merry, 
And  reixnteih  Him  of  the  ev:;,"  ' 

This  prophetic  view,  which  (kman<li  contrition  anri  crav- 
ing for  ()o(l  instea.l  of  external  mo<les  of  atonement,  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  penitential  Psalms  as  well.'  especially  in  F*salm 
LI.  The  idea  is  expanded  further  in  the  ,)arablc  of  the 
prophet  Jonah,  which  conveys  the  lesson  that  even  a  heathen 
nation  like  the  people  of  Nineveh  can  avert  the  impending 
judgment  of  God  by  true  repentance »  From  this  jM)int  of 
view  the  whole  conception  t(M)k  on  a  larger  aspec*  and  the 
entire  history  of  mankind  was  set  n  in  a  new  light.  The 
Jewish  sages  realized  that  G(kI  punishes  man  only  wi.cn  the 
expected  change  of  mind  and  heart  fails  to  come.* 

5.  The  Jewish  plan  of  divine  salvation  presents  a  striking 
contrast  to  that  of  the  Church,  for  it  is  built  upon  the  pre- 
sumption that  all  sinners  can  find  their  way  back  to  Go'l  and 
godliness,  if  they  but  earnestly  so  desire.  Even  bef»)re  God 
created  the  world,  He  determined  to  offer  man  the  possibility 
of  Tesfmbah,  so  that,  in  the  midst  of  the  continual  struggle 
with  the  allurement?  of  the  senses,  the  repentant  sinner  can 
ever  change  heart  and  mind  and  return  to  God."*  Without 
such  a  possibility  the  world  of  man  coul<l  not  endure;  thus, 
because  no  man  can  stand  before  the  divine  tribunal  of  stern 
justice,  the  paternal  arm  of  a  meniful  God  is  extended  to 

'  Joil  II,  ii-M.  »Stc  P'..  XXXII.  1  f.  'Jonah  IIMV. 

«Thc  Hebrew  Irshiihak  is  translated  in  dreck  ntrlanoia,  mt  .ning  i  change 

n!  rr-.in:! 

•Pes.  iiga.   P.  d   R   F.I.  XLIII. 


jfr^ 


•  it*  ^* 


^wk^^y' 


REPENTANCE  OR  THE   RETURN  TO  (.OD 


JSI 


receive  the  penitent.  ThI*  sublimp  truth  in  constantly  reit- 
erated in  the  Talnnul  and  in  the  lilurny.  csiuiially  •>(  the 
great  Day  ol  At«)nemcnt.'  Not  only  dors  tiod\  lunj?  '^ulTcr- 
Ing  give  the  sinner  time  to  rcju-nt ,  HI-*  paternal  love  urnci* 
him  to  return.  Thus  the  HanKadi^tH  purjxm-ly  represetn 
almost  all  the  Hinnern  mentione«l  in  the  Bible  as  m«KleU  of 
Hi  . 'f  repcn*aniT  I'irHt  of  all  comes  Kinj?  David,  who  is 
1  t..„(icrc<l  i'uh  a  pattern  of  repentance,  as  the  author  of  the 
I.        .  ,  t  that  he  woulil  not  have  In'en  allowed  to  sin 

;»fi,\  lu  n*  had  not  In-en  providentially  ap|M»inte<l  a* 

III.     I'j'iiDf  •  X       )le  of  the  penitent's  return  to  ChmI.'     Then 
V  iti!     ^lal.as^eh,   the  most    wi(  ked   among  all  the 
i  !  ■  I    1  and   Israel,  who  ha*'  c«)mmitted  the  most 

<ii       .  MT    of  idolatrous  Worship.     Referring  to  the  story 


lun.    n  Chronicles,  it  is  -^aid  that  GchI  responded  to 
i;iiii  payers  am!  incessant  supplications  hy  o|)eninR  a 


riu  luider  His  throne  of  mercy  and  r  ceiving  hi-,  petition  for 
pardon.  Thus  all  mankind  might  see  that  none  can  be  so 
wicked  that  he  will  not  find  thecloor  of  reprntame  open,  if  he 
but  seek  it  sincerely  and  persistentlv.'  likewise  Adam  and 
Cain.  Reuben  and  Judah,  Korah.  Jeroboam,  Ahab,  Josiah.  and 
Jcchoniah  arc  described  in  Talmud.  Midra^h,  and  the  apoca- 
ly;  Mc  literature  as  penitent  sinners  who  obtained  at  last  the 
coveted  pardon.*  Flie  optimistic  spirit  «»f  Judaism  cannot 
tolerate  the  idea  that  mortal  man  is  hopelessly  lost  under  the 
burden  of  his  sins,  -  that  he  need  ever  lose  failh  in  himself. 
No  one  can  sink  .so  )w  that  he  annot  find  his  wa)-  back  to 
his  heavenly  Fatlui  by  untiring  self-dist  ipline.  As  the 
Talmud   says,  nothing  tan   fuially   withstand   the  power  of 

'  Pes.  S4  a;  G.-n   R.  I,  5;   P  <l   R    Kl   Ml ,   Siniitr's  rri\-rh   :(,-;  f. 

'Shah.  s'>  a;    Ab.  Z.  4  h-;  .1.    .MMr    IVh.  P^    X!.,  .• ;    M.  i.v 

'Ter  S.-»nh.  X,  78  c;  S.inh.  (oja,   IV-..  i'.-;    Pniyrr  ol  M;iria>-.eh. 

*  Pesik.  ifx)  .i-i6j,  Shat.  s^  x  h-r,rn  R.  Xl.f);  XXII,  12-1?.  XXXVIFT, 
0;  XI.IX.  6;  P.  R.  hi.  XX;  XlJIl;  .Nurq.  K  XVIIl,  ...  .\b.  d.  R.  N.  I,  j:; 
Saab.  102  b. 


252 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


Hi!' 


if 


.m 


sincere  repentance :  "  It  reaches  up  to  the  very  seat  of  God ;" 
"upon  it  rests  the  w(  [are  of  the  world."  ' 

6.  The  rabbis  follow  up  the  idea  first  announced  in  the 
book  of  Jonah,  that  the  savinj?  j)ower  of  repentance  applies 
to  the  heathen  world  as  well.  Thus  they  show  how  God 
constantly  offered  time  and  opportunity  to  the  heathens  for 
repentance.  P'or  example,  when  the  generation  of  the  flood, 
the  builders  of  the  Tower  of  Babel,  and  the  people  of  Sodom 
and  (iomorrah  were  to  be  punished.  God  waited  to  give  them 
lime  for  repentance  and  improvement  of  their  ways.^  Noah, 
Enoch,  and  Abraham  are  represented  as  monitors  of  their 
contemporaries,  warning  them,  like  the  prophets,  to  repent 
in  time  lest  they  meet  their  doom.'  Thus  the  whole  Hellen- 
istic literature  of  propaganda,  especially  the  Sibylline  books, 
echoes  the  warning  and  the  hope  ihat  the  heathen  should 
repent  of  their  grievous  sins  and  return  to  (iod,  whom  they 
had  deserted  in  idolatry,  so  ihat  they  might  e.-;cape  the  im- 
I)ending  doom  of  the  last  judgment  day.  According  to  one 
Haggadist,*  even  the  Messiah  will  apjjear  first  as  a  preacher 
of  repentance,  admonishing  the  heathen  nations  to  be  con- 
verted to  the  true  God  and  repent  before  Flirn,  lest  they  fall 
into  perdition.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that  even  Pharaoh  and 
the  Egyptians  were  warned  and  given  time  for  repentance 
before  their  fate  overtook  them. 

7.  Accordingly,  the  princijjle  of  repentance  is  a  universal 
human  one,  and  by  no  means  exclusively  national,  as  the 
Christian  theologi  tns  represent  it.*  The  sages  thus  dt -scribe 
Adam  as  the  type  of  the  penitent  sinner,  who  is  granted  par- 

'  Y.>maS6.-i,  b;    Pes.  R.  XI.IX. 

'  .Mck.  Shira  5;  (Itn.  R.  XXI,  6;  XXX,  4;  XXXII.  10;  XXXVIII, 
14;  i.XXXIV,  iS;  K\  R.  XII,  1;  Num.  R.  XII,  ij;  ti.  Wisdom  XI,  ij; 
XII,  10,  19. 

'  Sanh.  108;   Sibyllines,  I,  i;^-io8. 

♦  Cant.  R.  VII,  s.  ref,  to  the  name  llvir.i  h.  Zech.  IX,  i. 

•  Weber,  1,  c,  i6i  f. ;  Bousset,  I.  c,  446  f. ;  tomp.  Pci'  s     Boitsset. 


REPENTANCE  OR  THE  RETURN  TO  GOD 


253 


don  by  God.  The  "si^n"  of  Cain  also  was  to  be  a  sign  for 
all  sinners,  assurinR  them  they  might  all  obtain  forgiveness 
and  salvation,  if  they  would  but  return  to  God.'  In  fact, 
the  prophetic  appeal  to  Israel  for  rei)entancc,  vain  at  the 
lime,  effected  the  regeneration  of  the  people  during  the 
E.xile  and  gave  rise  to  Judaism  and  its  institutions.  In  the 
same  way,  the  appeal  to  the  heathen  world  by  the  Hellenistic 
propaganda  and  the  Ks.sene  preachers  of  repentance  did  not 
induce  the  nations  at  once  to  prepare  for  the  coming  of  the 
Messianic  kingdom,  but  finally  led  to  the  rise  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  and,  through  certain  intermediaries,  of  the 
Mohammedan  as  well. 

However,  the  long-cherished  hope  for  a  universal  conver- 
sion of  the  heathen  world,  voiced  in  the  preachments  and  the 
prayers  of  the  "pious  ones,"  gave  way  to  a  reaction.  The 
rise  of  a-^tinomian  sects  in  Juc'  lism  occasioned  the  dropping 
of  this  pious  hope,  and  only  certain  individual  conversions 
we.  dwelt  on  as  shining  e.xceptions.*  The  heathen  world 
in  general  was  not  regarded  as  disposed  to  rei)ent,  and  so 
its  ultimate  fate  was  the  doom  of  Gehenna.  E.xperience 
seemed  to  confirm  the  stern  view,  which  rabbinical  interjire- 
lation  could  fird  in  Scripture  also,  that  "Even  at  the  very 
gate  of  the  nether  world  wicked  men  shall  not  return."' 
The  grjwuig  violence  of  the  oi)pres.sors  and  the  increasing 
number  of  the  maligners  of  Judaism  darkened  the  hope  for 
a  universal  conversion  of  humanity  to  the  pure  faith  of 
Israel  and  its  law  of  righteousness.  On  the  contrary,  a 
certain  satisfaction  was  felt  I>y  the  Jew  in  the  thought  that 
these  eremies  of  Judaism  should  not  be  allowed  to  repent  and 
obtain  salvation  'a  the  hereafter.^ 

8.  The  idea  of  repentance  was  applied  all  the  more  in- 
tensely in  Jewish  life,  and  a  still  more  prominent  place  was 

*  Gen.  R.  XXII,  27 ;  comp.  Sanh.  107  b.  •  Mek.  Vithro  i 

•Erub.  19  a.  «  Mid.  Teh.  I's.  \,  21  {.;  IX,  13,  15;  XI.  S- 


254 


JFWISH  THEOLOGY 


ft'  '' 


k  ' 


L  % 


li  I  , 


V,  s 

?! 


ill 


accorded  it  in  Jewfsh  literature.    The  rabbis  have  number- 
less sayings*  in  the  Tabnud  and  also  in  the  H?i;gadic  and 
ethical  writuigs  concerning  the  power  and  value  of  repent- 
ance.   In  passages  such  as  these  we   see   how   profoundly 
Judaism  dealt  with  the  failings  and  shortcomings  of  man. 
The  term  asa  kshubah,  do  repentance,  implies  no  mere  ex- 
ternal ict  of  penitence,  as  Christian  theologians  often  assert. 
On  the  contrary,  the  chief  stress  is  always  laid  on  the  feeling 
of  remorse  and  on  the  change  of  heart  which  contrition  and 
self-accusation  bring.     Yet  even  these  would  not  be  sufficient 
to  cast  of!  the  oppressive  consciousness  of  Kuilt,  unless  the 
contrite  heart  were  reassured  by  God  that  He  forgives  the 
penitent  son  of  man  with  paternal  grace  and  love.     In  other 
words,  religion  demands  a  special  means  of  atonement,  that  is, 
at-one-menl  with  God,  to  restore  the  broken  relation  of  man 
to  his  Maker.    The  true  spiritual  power  of  Judaism  appears 
in  this,  that  it  gradually  liberates  the  kcrnt!  of  the  atonement 
idea  from  its  priestly  shell.     The  Jew  realizes,  as  does  the 
adherent  of  no  other  religion,  that  even  in  sin  he  is  a  child 
of  God  and  certain  of  His  paternal  love.    This  is  brought 
home  especially  on    the  Day  of   Atonement,  which  will  be 
treated  in  a  later  chapter. 

g.  At  all  events,  the  blotting  out  of  man's  sins  with  their 
punishment  remains  ever  an  act  of  grace  by  God.*  In  com- 
passion for  man's  frailty  He  has  ordained  repentance  as 
the  means  of  salvation,  and  promised  pardon  to  the  penitent. 
This  truth  is  brought  out  in  the  liturgy  for  the  Day  of  Atone- 
ment, as  well  as  in  the  Apocalyptic  Prayer  of  Manasseh. 
At  the  same  timi',  Judaism  awards  the  pahn  of  victory  to 
him  who  ha^  wrestled  with  sin  and  conquered  it  by  his  own 
will.     Thus   the   rabbis  boldly   assert:    "Those   who   have 

'  See  .Maimonides,  Bahya,  and  others  on  Teshubah;  comp.  J.  E.,  art.  Re- 
pentance;   Tobit  .\III,  6;    XIV,  0;    Philo  II,  4J5. 
2  See  Schcchter,  1.  c,  323  f 


Ji- 


REPENTANCE  OR  THE  RETURN  TO  GOD 


255 


sinned  and  repented  rank  higher  in  ihc  world  to  rome  than 
the  righteous  who  have  never  sinned,"  which  is  paralleled 
in  the  New  Testament :  "There  is  more  joy  in  hca\en  over 
one  sinner  who  repenteth  than  over  ninety  and  nine  righteous 
persons,  who  need  no  repentanre."  '  No  intcrnu-diury  power 
from  without  secures  the  divine  grac  and  jtardon  for  thi- 
repentant  sinner,  but  his  own  inner  tran.Ntormiiioii  alone. 

'  Sanh.   09   a,  Luke  XV,  7.     The    tliird   ('ios|)cl    moro    than    the   others 
preserved  the  original  Jewish  doctrines  of  the  Church. 


'# 


'^^-^li  d.i:!mt 


1' .-  • 


i\ 


•4!    I 

1  i 


l!ii 


CHAPTER  XL 
Man,  the  Child  of  God 

I.  The  belief  that  God  hears  our  prayers  and  pardons  our 
sins  rests  upon  the  assumption  of  a  mutual  relation  between 
man  and  (WmI.     This  belief  is  insusceptible  of  proof,  but  rests 
entirely  upon  our  religious  feelings  and  is  rooted  purely  in 
our  emotional  life.     We  apply  to  the  relation  between  man 
and  God  the  finest  feelings  known  in  human  life,   the  de- 
votion and  love  of  parents  for  their  children  and  the  affection 
and  trust  the  child  entertains  for  its  parents.     Thus  we  are  led 
to  the  conviction  that  earth-born  man  has  a  Helper  enthroned 
in  the  heavens  above,  who  hearkens  when  he  implores  Him 
for  aid.     In  his  innermost  heart  man  feels  that  he  has  a  special 
claim  on  the  divine  protection.     In  the  words  of  Job,'  he  knows 
that  his  Redeemer  liveth.     He  need  not  perish  in   misery. 
Unlike  the  brute  creation  and  the  hosts  of  stars,  whi.h  know 
nothing  of  their  Maker,  man  feels  akin  to  the  God  who  lives 
within  him;   he  is  His  image,  His  child.     He  cannot  be  de- 
prived of  His  paternal  love  and  favor.    This  truly  human 
emotion  is  nowhere  expressed  so  clearly  as  in  Judaism.    "Ye 
are  the  children  of  the  Lord  your  (nul."  ^     "Have  we  not  all 
one  Father?     Hath  not  one  God  created  us?"'     "Like  as 
a  father  hath  compassion  on  his  children,  so  hath  the  Lord 
compassion  upon   them  that  fear  Him."* 

2.  Still,  this  simj)le  idea  of  man's  filial  relation  to  God  and 
God's  paternal  love  for  man  did  not  begin  in  its  beautiful  tmal 
form.     For  a  long  time  the  Jew  seems  to  have  avoided  the 

'  Job  XIX,  25.     The  Hohrew  Gor!  ^^iKnifios  kinsman  as  well  as  redeemer  and 
avenger,  iin|ilvinK  blood-relalionsliip.     In  J.»b  it  mean>  vindii  alor. 
«  Deut  xiv,  I.  »  Mai.  II,  10.  *  I's.  ClII,  13. 

256 


MAN    THE  CHILD  OF  GOD 


257 


term  "  Father  "  for  Ovl.  because  it  was  used  by  the  heathen  fur 
their  deities  as  physirai  ifrojjcnitors,  and  did  not  refer  to  the 
moral  relation  t>rtwi<  n  the  Deity  and  mankind.  Thus 
worshipers  of  wixKlrti  id'  .vould,  according  to  Scripture, 
"say  to  a  sux  k,  Thou  art  my  lather."  '  Hosca  was  the  first 
to  call  the  people  of  Israel  children  of  the  living  G(k1,"»  if 
they  would  but  im|)rov«'  ili.t'ir  ways  and  enter  into  right  re- 
lations with  Him.  Jenmiah  als<  hope-  for  the  time  when 
Israel  would  invoke  the  Lord,  saying  Th.,u  a^t  my  Father," 
and  in  return  Ciod  would  prove  a  tru»-  iath»'r  to  him.'  How- 
ever, Scripture  calls  (Jod  a  leather  <»nl'  ir  referring  to  the 
people  as  a  whole.*  The  -pious  ones'  (-.ial>lished  a  closer 
relation  between  (Jod  and  the  individual  l)\  means  of  prayer, 
so  that  through  them  the  epithets,  '•  Father  "'  "Our  Father," 
and  "Our  Father  in  heaven  "tame  into  ^'iiieral  use.  Hence, 
the  liturgy  frecjuently  uses  the  invcxation.  "Our  Father, 
Our  King!"  We  owe  to  Rabbi  Akiba  the  signiticant  saying, 
in  opposition  to  the  Paulinian  dogma,  "HIessed  are  ye,  O 
Israelites  !  Before  whom  do  you  purify  yourselves  (from  your 
sins)?  And  who  is  it  that  purifies  you?  Your  Father  in 
heaven."  '  Previously  Rabbi  Kliezer  ben  Hyrcanos  dwelt 
on  the  moral  degeneration  of  his  age,  which  betokened  the 
end  of  time,  and  exdaimed:  "In  whom.  then,  shall  we  find 
support?  In  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven""  The  ap- 
pellative "Father  in  heaven"  was  the  stereotyped  term  used 
by  the  "pious  ones"  during  the  century  preceding  and  the 
one  following  the  rise  of  Christianity,  as  a  glance  at  the 
literature  of  the  period  indicates.^ 

,^    It  is  instructive  to  follow  the  history  of  this  term.     In 
Scripture  (lod  is  represented  as  speaking  to  David,  "  I  will  be 

'  >r-  If.  ^7.  «  ff.s<:i  11,1.  J  Sic  Jcr   III,  4. 

Mir.  XX.\I,  „;  Deut.  XXXII,  ;,  Is.i.  l.XHI,  16;  LXIV,  7;  Mai    I,  4- 
I  Chron.  XXI\,  10. 

'VumaVllI.o.  'SotalX,  15. 

'  See  ne.xt  paragraph,  and  the  art.  Ahha  in  J   K. 


258 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


\i>.  I 


'   i 


to  him  (or  a  father,  and  he  shall  be  to  Me  for  a  son,"  '  or  "  He 
shall  call  unto  Me:   Thou  art  my  Father.  ...  I  also  will 
appoint  him  first-born.'"    So  in   the   apocryphal   writings 
God  speaks  both  to  Israel  and  to  individual  saints:  "I  shall 
be  to  them  a  Father,  and  they  shall  be  My  children."  '     Else- 
where it  is  said  of  the  righteous,  "He  calls  God  his  Father, 
and  "he  shall  be  counted  among  the  s<ins  of  God."*    We 
read  concerning  the  Messiah:  "When  all  wrongdoing  will  be 
removed  fr«)m  the  midst  of  the  people,  he  shall  know  that 
all  are  sons  of  God."  »    Obviously  only  righteousness  or  fwr- 
sonal  merit  entitles  a  man  to  be  called  a  son  of  God.     In 
fact,  we  are  expressly  told  of  Onias.  the  great  Essene  samt. 
that  his  intimate  relation  with  God  em!)oldened  him  to  con 
verse  with  the  Master  of  the  Universe  as  a  son  would  speak 
with  his  father.'    According  to  the  Mi>hiuih  the  older  gener 
ation  of  "pious  ones"  used  to  spend  "an  hour  in  silent  de- 
votion  before  offering  their  daily  prayer,  in  order  to  concen- 
trate heart  and  soul  upon  their  communion  with  their  Father 
in  heaven."  ^    Thus  it  is  said  of  concregational  prayer  that 
through  it  "Israel  lifts  his  eyes  to  hh  Father  in  heaven."' 
In  this  way  prayer  t.n.k  the  place  of  the  ultur,  of  which  R. 
Johanan  ben  Zakkal  said  that  it  established  peace  between 
Israel  and  his  Father  in  heaven.'     .Afterwards  the  question 
was  discussed  by  Kabbi  Meir  and  Rabbi  Jehuda  whether  even 
sin-laden  Israel  had  a  right  to  be  called    -children  of  God. 
Rabbi  Meir  pointed  to  Hosea  as  proot  that  the  backsliders  also 
remain  "children  of  the  living  God."  '" 

4  In  the  Hellenistic  lit.ralure.  with  its  dominating  idea 
of  universal  m..nothei.m,  God  is  frer,ueiitly  invoked  or  spoken 
of  as  the  Father  of  mankin.l.     The  inn>lication  is  that  each 


1  II  Sam.  \  n,  14 
♦Wisdom  II,  i(',    V,  s. 
•Tian.  Ill    H 
•  Mek.  Vithro  ii. 


»  IV,  l.XXXIX.  .'7-iH-  »  Jii'>'lw'*  ^'  ^*- 

'-  Psalms  of  Siilonum  X\  H.  i 
7  uer  V,  I.  '."^'li'    '*'•   ''^  CXXI.  i. 

•'  Siirc  Ocut   .)(•,    Hosc-i  I.  to 


ill 

|I  i 
I  \ 


MAN.  THE  CHILD  OF  (iOD 


259 


person  who  inv«)kes  G<mI  as  Father  enters  into  filial  relation 
with  Him.  Thus  what  was  first  applied  to  Israel  in  par- 
ticular was  now  broadened  to  include  mankind  in  general, 
and  consequently  all  men  were  considered  "children  of  the 
living  God."  The  words  of  tiod  t«)  Pharaoh,  speaking  of 
Israel  as  His  "firstborn  son,"  '  were  taken  as  proof  that  all 
llic  nations  of  the  earth  are  sons  of  CumI  and  He  the  universal 
Father.  Israel  i-;  the  first-l)orn  among  the  sons  of  God,  be- 
cause hi>  patriarchs,  proplifts,  and  psalmi>t^  first  recognized 
Him  as  the  universal  F.itlier  and  Ruler.  From  this  point  of 
view  Judaism  det  1  ired  love  for  fellow-men  and  regard  for  the 
dignity  of  humanity  to  be  fundamental  principles  of  ethics. 
"As  God  is  kind  and  merciful  toward  His  creation,  be  thou 
also  kind  and  merciful  toward  all  ftllow-creatures,"  is  the  oft- 
repeated  teaching  of  the  rabbis.^  Lik«'wise,  "Whoever  takes 
pity  on  his  fellow-beings,  on  him  God  in  heaven  will  also  take 
pity."  '  Love  of  humanity  has  so  permeated  the  nature  of 
the  Jew  that  the  rabbis  assert  :  "He  who  has  i)ity  on  his  fel- 
low-men has  the  blood  of  Abraham  in  his  veins."  *  This 
bold  remark  ( asts  light  upon  the  --trang  •  dictum:  "Ve 
Israelites  are  called  by  the  name  of  man,  but  the  heathen  are 
not."  ^  The  Jewish  tea(  hers  were  so  deei)ly  impressed  with 
man's  inhumanitx  to  Mian,  so  loinnion  among  the  heathen 
nations,  and  the  immorality  of  the  lives  by  whit  h  these  dtse- 
( rated  God's  image,  that  they  insisted  that  the  laws  of  hu- 
manity alone  make  f(.>r  divine  <tignity  in  man. 

5.  Rabbi  .\kiba  probal  ly  referred  to  the  Paulinian  dogma 
ihat  jihU>,  the  <  ru  ilud  Messiah,  is  the  only  son  of  God,  in 
his  well-known  sayiir^  :  "Beloved  is  man,  for  he  i-.  created 
ill  (jod'>  image,  and  it  was  a  spn  ial  token  of  love  that  he  be- 
came tunsii  MS  f)f  it.  Beloved  is  Israel,  for  they  arc  called 
the  chil(!  en  ot  Ciod,  ar.d  it  was  a  spei  ial  token  of  love  s     d  they 

I  j.;^    jv,   ,i.  'Sifrc  Dcut.  4'J.  '  Sifrc  Dcut    y6. 

'  B«/;i  i--  b.  *  Ytb.  01  a. 


36o 


JKWISH  THEOLOCiY 


%''' 


l)ccamc  conscious  of  it."  '  Here  he  cluims  the  ti}ory  of  l>cing 
a  son  of  (rtKl  for  Israel,  hut  not  for  all  men.  Still,  as  s«K)n  as 
the  likeness  .)f  man  to  (;«kI  is  taken  in  a  spiritual  sense,  then 
it  is  implied  that  all  men  have  the  same  capacity  for  In-inR  a 
son  of  (lod  which  is  claimed  for  Israel.  This  is  un(|uestion- 
ahly  the  view  oi  Judaism  when  it  considers  the  Ti)rah  as  en- 
trusted to  Israel  to  huna,  light  ami  blessing  to  all  the  families 
of  men.  Kal)l)i  Meir,  the  disciple  of  Rabbi  Akiba.  said: 
'"Ihe  S(rii)lural  w»»rds,  'The  statutes  and  t)rdinances  which 
man  shall  do  and  live  thereby,'  and  similar  expressions  indi- 
cate that  the  final  aim  of  Judaism  is  not  attained  by  the 
Aaronide,  nor  the  Levite,  nor  even  the  Israelite,  but  by  man- 
kintl.  "^  Such  a  siiyinj?  expresses  clearly  and  emphatically 
that  GimI's  fatherly  love  extends  to  all  men  as  His  children. 

().  .\i liirdinK  to  the  religious  consciousness  of  mtwlern  Israel 
man  is  made  in  Ciod's  image,  and  is  thus  a  child  of  Cii,d.  Con- 
sequently Jew  and  non  Jew,  saint  ami  sinner  have  the  same 
claim  upon  Ciod's  paternal  love  and  mercy.  There  is  no 
distinction  in  favor  of  Israel  except  as  he  lives  a  higher  and 
more  god-like  life.  Kven  those  who  have  fallen  away  from 
Ciod  and  have  committed  crime  and  sin  remain  (mmI's  children. 
If  they  send  up  their  penitent  cry  to  the  throne  of  L)o<\, 
"Pardon  us.  ()  Father,  for  we  have  sinned!  F«»rgive  us,  () 
King,  for  we  have  done  evil:';  their  prayer  is  heard  by  the 
heavenly  Father  exactly  like  that  of  the  pious  son  of  Israel. 

'  .\»><>th  III.  H.  <iu.)lf<l  alHivc.  Chap.  XXXIV,  \>ixt.  6. 
'  Sifru  Aliarr  ij,  p   HO. 


Pl^ 


CHAITKK   XL  I 


Prayer  and  Sairifice 

1.  The  Rap  hotwct'n  man  md  thr  suhlinu*  Master  of  the 
universe  is  vast,  hut  not  absolul'v  The  thoughts  of  Vhh\  are 
high  above  our  thoughts,  and  thi  wa>>  of  lii;.i  above  our 
ways,  baffling  our  reason  when  we  endeavor  to  solve  the 
vexati»)Us  problems  t)f  destiny,  of  nurit  and  demerit,  of  ret- 
ributi«)n  and  atonement.  \v\  religion  olTers  a  wondrous 
medium  to  bring  the  heart  of  man  into  dose  conmuinion  with 
llim  who  is  enthroned  al)ove  the  heavens,  one  that  overleaps 
all  distances,  removes  all  barriers,  and  blende  all  dissonances 
into  one  great  harmony,  and  that  is  Prayer.  As  the  child 
must  relieve  itself  of  its  troubles  and  sorrows  u|)on  the  b«)som 
of  its  mother  or  father  in  order  to  turn  it^  pain  into  gladness, 
so  men  at  all  times  seek  tt>  approach  the  Deity,  confiding  to 
Him  all  their  fears  and  longings  in  order  to  obtain  peace  of 
heart.  Prayer,  communion  between  the  human  soul  ami 
the  Creator,  is  the  glorious  privilege  enjoyed  by  man  alone 
amtmg  all  creatures,  as  he  al»)ne  is  the  child  of  (lod.  It 
voices  the  longing  of  the  human  heart  for  its  Father  in  heaven. 
As  the  Psalmist  has  it,  "  NTy  soul  thirsteth  for  Ciod,  for  the 
living  (l(xl."  ' 

2.  However,  both  language,  the  means  of  intercourse  be- 
tween man  and  man.  and  prayer,  the  means  of  intercourse 
between  man  and  (lod,  ^how  tr.ne>  of  a  >low  development 
lasting  for  thousands  of  years,  until  the  ioftiot  thoughts  and 

« t's  XI  II.  \. 


'  I 
'  I 


j6i 


Jl  WISH  THEOl-OGY 


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If 


I 


j^ubllmcst  cmotioiw  rouUl  l)C  cxprc**t««l.    The  real  efficacy  of 
prayer  couKI  not  be  truly  appreiiate*!,  until  the  prophetic 
-pirit  triumpheti  -v,  i   the  priestly  clement  in  Juilaism      In 
th."  history  of  siKith  th<'  languaK**  of  siRns  pre«e«lwl  that  of 
sounds,  and  imai^rs  Krudually  ri|)ene«l  into  alwlract  thoughts. 
Similarly,  primitive  man  approaches  his  CkkI  with  many  kiml* 
of  gifts  and  s;u rifu  iai  rites  to  expresn  his  bcnliments.     He  ai  t* 
out  or  ticpitts  what  he  i  xiK-cts  from  the  Deity,  whether  rain, 
fertility  of  the  »t)ii    or  the  extermination  of   his   foes      He 
shares  with  his  (lod  his  f<HKl  and  drink,  to  obtain  His  friend- 
ship and  protection  in  lime  of  trouble,  and  sacrilkes  the  dear- 
est of  his  |M)ssessit>ns  to  assuage  His  wrath  or  obtain  His  favor. 
V    In  the  lowest  stage  of  culture  man  nee<lid  no  metliator 
in  his  intercourse  with  the  Deity,  who  appeared  to  him  in  the 
phi  nomena  of  nature  as  well  as  in  thi  fetish,  totem,  and  the 
like.     But  stKjn  he  rose  to  a  higher  sl.igc  of  ihouKht.  and  the 
Deity  withdrew  before  him  to  the  celestial  heights,  fdling  him 
with  awe  and  fear ;   llun  rose  a  class  of  men  who  claimed  the 
privilege  to  approach  lli<-  Deity  and  influence  Him  by  certain 
secret  practices.     Henceforth   these  acted  as  mediators  be- 
tween the  mass  of  the  people  and  the-  Deity.     In  the  first 
place,  these  were  the  magicians,  medicim  men.  and  similar 
persons,  who  were  credited  with  the  power  to  conjure  up  the 
hi<l<lcn  forces  of  nature,  considereil  either  divine  or  demoniac. 
After  these  arose  the  i)riests.  distinguished  from  the  people 
by  special  dress  and  diet,  who  established  in  the  various  tribes 
temples,  altars,  and  cults,  under  their  own  control.     Then 
there  were  the  saints,  pious  penitents  or  Nazarites.  who  led 
an  ascetic  life  secluded  from  the  masses,  hoping  thus   to  ob- 
tain higher  powers  over  the  will  of  the  Deity.     All  these  en- 
tertainc  1  mon- or  le'^-  clearly  the  notion  that  they  stood  in 
closer  rehition  to  the  Deity  than  tin-  common  people,  whom 
they  then  excluded  from  the  sanctuary  and  all  access  to  the 
Deity. 


:li 


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I 


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I'RAYF.R   AM)  SA(  RIFK'K 


a6j 


The  Nftmnii  cult,  in  ihc  »<»iailc«i  Tricstly  ('Kir.  was  foundt'<l 
U|>on  thU  ^t.lKl•  of  riiiKiou-*  liif.  forming  a  hi«Tiir<  hUal  in- 
!«titutit>n  likt  th«)>f  u(  idhrr  uiuknt  nations  it  «lilUrct| 
from  thrni,  h..wivi'r,  in  oi.i-  i->svi>iiul  jHtint.  Tlu-  prime  cle- 
ment in  I  Ik-  tuU  ni  other  nations  was  ma«it ,  t».n>i'.tinK  of 
uraile.  imanlalion  ami  divination,  itut  this  was  rnliroly  nm- 
trary  to  the  prinriplen  of  (he  Jewish  faith  <h>  the  other 
hami,  all  the  rites  an  1  reremonies  han<li<i  down  from  rrmotc 
anti(juity  were  plareil  in  the  lerviie  «)f  Israel's  holy  (iod,  in 
order  to  train  lli>  p'ople  into  the  hi^,'he■^t  moral  purity 
The  palriarths  and  prophet-.,  who  are  d«pi.  led  in  S*riptu!c 
as  appro  I.  hinj;  Inwl  in  prayer  ami  hearing  His  voiie  in  reply, 
rome  under  the  iatej?or>  ol  saints  or  elei  t  ones,  alM)ve  ihc 
nmss  of  the  people. 

4.  Foreign  as  the  entire  idea  of  ^.airitue  is  to  our  mcnle  of 
religious  thought,  to  anlicinity  it  appeared  as  the  only  means 
of  intercourse  with  the  I)eity.  "In  ewry  place  offerings  are 
presented  unto  My  name,  even  pure  oldation^,"  '  says  the 
prophet  Maiachi  in  the  name  of  Isr.ui^  (io<l  Kven  from  a 
higher  |)oint  of  view  the  un«lerlyiiin  idea  seems  to  he  of  a 
simple  otTerinji  laiil  Ujum  the  ,ilt.ir  Sm  h  were  the  meal- 
oflering  {minha};'  the  burnt  olTe^in^;  (o/u/ii,  which  sends  its 
pillar  of  smoke  up  toward  heaven,  symholizinK  the  id<a  of 
self-sacrifice;  while  the  various  sin  olTerinns  iluiilalh  or 
usham)  expressed  the  <lesire  to  propitiate  an  olTended  Deity. 
However,  since  the  saciifuial  cult  wa-  always  dominated  by 
the  priesthiMKi  in  Israel  as  well  as  other  nations,  the  lawgiver 
made  no  es>ential  changes  in  the  traditional  prat  lite  and 
terminulogy.  Thu-^  it  was  left  to  the  lonsi  iousne.^s  of  the 
people  to  fnul  a  deeper  spiritual  meaning  in  the  sacritues 


•Mai  I.  u 

»  With  '\ls<i:kar,th,  the  flame  of  inccnu-  rising  in  "|>y rim  !:il  "  form,  Kenerally 
translated  "memori,il,"  or  "memnri.il  i>art  "  I.iv.  II,  y,  t(t.  Kor  sacrifice 
as  means  of  alODcmcnt  »ec  Schcchttr :  A^pali,  Jg5  jO'' 


MlOIOCOfV   RiSOlUTION   TIST   CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No    2) 


1^     1^ 


■  2.5 

■■■ 

2.2 
2.0 


1.8 


^  /APPLIED  IM/IGE     Inc 

^K  I6bj   EosI    Men   Street 

y^a  Rochester,    New   York        14609       USA 

•-as  ('16)   482  -  0300  -  Phone 

^=  (716)   288  -  5989  -Fo« 


264 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


«t 


r     I 


!     i 


i  I 


instead  of  stating  one  directly.  The  want  was  supplied  only 
by  the  later  Hagpadists  who  tried  to  create  a  symbolism  of  the 
sacrificial  cult.  The  laying  on  of  hands  by  the  individual  who 
brought  the  offering,  seems  to  have  been  a  genuine  symbolic 
expression  of  self-surrender.  In  the  case  of  sin-offerings  the 
Mosaic  cult  added  a  higher  meaning  by  ordering  a  preceding 
confession  of  sin.  Here,  indeed,  the  individual  entered  into 
personal  communion  with  God  through  his  prayer  for  pardon, 
even  though  the  priest  performed  the  act  of  expiation  for 
him. 

5.  The  great  prophets  of  Israel  alone  recognized  that 
the  entire  sacrificial  system  was  out  of  harmony  with  the 
true  spirit  of  Judaism  and  led  to  all  sorts  of  abuses,  above 
all  to  a  misconception  of  the  worship  of  God,  which  requires 
the  uplifting  of  the  heart.  In  impassioned  language,  there- 
fore, they  hurled  words  of  scathing  denunciation  against  the 
practice  and  principle  of  ritualism:  "I  hate,  I  despise  your 
feasts,  and  I  will  take  no  delight  in  your  solemn  assemblies. 

Yea,  though  ye  offer  Me  burnt-offerings  and  your  meal- 
offerings,  I  will  not  accept  them ;  Neither  will  I  regard  the 
peace-offerings  of  your  fat  beasts. 

Take  thou  away  from  Me  the  noise  of  thy  songs ;  and  let 
Me  not  hear  the  melody  of  thy  psalteries. 

But  let  justice  well  up  as  waters,  and  righteousness  as  a 
mighty  stream."  ' 

Thus  speaks  Amos  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.     And  Hosea : 

"For  I  desire  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice,  and  the  knowledge 
of  God  rather  than  burnt-offerings."  ^ 

Isaiah  spoke  in  a  similar  vein  : 

"To  what  purpose  is  the  multitude  of  your  sacrifices  unto 
Me?    saith  the  Lord;  I  am  full  of  the  burnt-offerings   of 
rams,  and  the  fat  of  fed  beasts;    and  I  delight  not  in  the 
blood  of  bullocks,  or  of  lambs,  or  of  he-goats.  .  .  . 
>  .\mos  V,  21-24.  '  Hosea  VI,  6. 


PRAYER   AND   SACRIFICE 


265 


Bring  me  no  more  vain  oblations;  it  is  an  ofTcring  of 
abomination  unto  Me ;  new  moon  and  sabbath,  the  holding 
of  convocations  - 1  cannot  endure  iniquity  along  with  the 
solemn  assembly.  .  .  . 

And  when  ye  spread  forth  your  hands,  I  will  hide  Mine  eyes 
from  you  ;  yea,  when  ye  make  many  prayers,  I  will  not  hear ; 
your  hands  are  full  of  blood. 

Wash  you,  make  you  clean,  put  away  the  evil  of  your  doings 
From  before  Mine  eyes,  cease  to  do  evil ;  learn  to  do  well ; 
seek  justice,  relieve  the  oppressed,  judge  the  fatherless,  plead 
for  the  widow."  ' 

Most  striking  of  all  are  the  words  of  Jeremiah,  spoken  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel :  "Add  your 
burnt-offerings  unto  your  sacrifices,  and  eat  ye  flesh.  For 
I  spoke  not  unto  your  fathers,  nor  commanded  them  in  the 
day  that  I  brought  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  concern- 
ing burnt-offerings  and  sacrifices,  but  this  thing  I  commanded 
them,  saying;  'Hearken  unto  My  voice,  and  I  will  be  your 
God,  and  ye  shall  be  My  people ;  and  walk  ye  in  all  the  way 
that  I  command  you,  that  it  may  be  well  with  you.'"  ^ 

6.  However,  the  mere  rejection  of  the  sacrificial  cult  was 
quite  negative,  and  did  not  satisfy  the  normal  need  for  com- 
munion with  God.  Therefore  the  various  codes  established 
a  sort  of  compromise  between  the  prophetic  ideal  and  the 
priestly  practice,  in  which  the  ideal  was  by  no  means  supreme. 
Sometimes  the  prophetic  spirit  stirred  the  soul  of  inspired  psalm- 
ists, and  their  lips  echoed  forth  again  the  divine  revelation : 

"Hear,  O  My  people,  and  I  will  speak;  O  Israel,  and  I 
will  testify  against  thee :  God,  thy  God,  am  I.  I  will  not 
reprove  thee  for  thy  sacrifices ;  and  thy  burnt-offerings  are 
continually  before  Me.  I  will  take  no  bullock  out  of  thy 
house,  nor  he-goats  out  of  thy  folds.  For  every  beast  of  the 
forest  is  Mine,  and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills.  .  .  . 

»Isa.  I,  11-18.  «Jer.  VII,  31-23. 


) 


266 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


i,y  . 


M 


r\'4v 


*l     ! 


Do  I  eat  the  flesh  of  bulls,  or  drink  the  blood  of 
goats?"'  Another  psalmist  says:  "Sacrifice  and  meal- 
oflering  thou  hast  no  delight  in ;  Mine  ears  hast  Thou 
opened ;  burnt-offering  and  sin  ofTering  hast  Thou  not 
required."  '^ 

Still,  the  sacrificial  cult  was  too  deeply  rooted  in  the  life  of 
the  people  to  be  disturbed  by  the  voice  of  the  prophets  or 
the  words  of  a  few  psalmists.  It  was  connected  with  the 
Temple,  and  the  Temple  was  the  center  of  the  social  life  of 
the  nation.  The  few  faint  voices  of  protest  went  practically 
unheeded.  The  priestly  pomp  of  sacrifice  could  only  be  dis- 
placed by  the  more  elevating  and  more  spiritual  devotion  of 
the  entire  congregation  in  prayer,  and  this  process  demanded 
a  new  environment,  and  a  group  of  men  with  entirely  new 
ideas. 

7.  The  need  of  a  deeper  devotion  through  prayer  was  not 
felt  until  the  Exile.  There  altar  and  priesthood  were  no 
more,  but  the  words  of  the  piophets  and  the  songs  of  the 
Levites  remained  to  kindle  the  people's  longing  for  God  with 
a  new  zeal.  Until  then  prayer  was  rare  and  for  special  oc- 
casions. Hannah's  prayer  at  Shiloh  filled  even  the  high 
priest  with  amazement.'  The  prophets  alone  interceded  in 
behalf  of  the  people,  because  the  ordinary  man  was  not  con- 
sidered suiliciently  clean  from  sin  to  approach  the  Deity  in 
prayer.  But  on  foreign  soil,  where  sacrifices  could  not  be 
offered  to  the  God  of  Israel,  the  harp  of  David  resounded  with 
solemn  songs  expressing  the  national  longing  toward  God. 
The  most  touching  psalms  of  penitence  and  thanksgiving  date 
from  the  exile.  A  select  class  of  devout  men,  called  the  godly 
or  pious  ones,  Hasidim  or  Anavim,'^  assembled  by  the  riveiS 
of  Babylon  for  regular  prayer,  turning  their  faces  toward 


t! 


'  Ps.  L,  7-13.  '  Ps.  XL,  7-  '  I  Sam.  L  13-14. 

*  Often  '.entioned  in  the  Psalms,  under  such  terms  as  "the  congregation 
of  the  righteous,"  "the  holy  ones,"  "the  devout  ones,"  etc. 


••'.«  -V  ♦Tl  ■#*.■•/'::'«/■• 


-.16 


nsfirs^nTiLi 


PRAYER   AND   SACRIFICE 


267 


Jerusalem,  that  the  God  of  Israel  misht  answer  them  from 
His  ancient  seat.'  Thus  the  great  seer  of  the  exile  voiced  the 
hope  for  "a  house  of  prayer  for  all  peoples"  to  ^tand  in 
the  very  place  where  ihe  sacrifices  were  offered  to  God.' 
The  congregation  ui  Ha>i(lini  elaborated  a  liturgy  under  the 
Persian  influence,  in  which  [)rayer  was  the  chief  element,  and 
the  secondary  part,  the  instruction  from  the  Torah  and  the 
monitions  of  the  prophets.  The  Synagogue,  the  house  of 
meeting  for  the  people,  spread  all  over  the  world,  and  by  its 
light  of  truth  and  glow  of  forvor  it  soon  eclipsed  the  Temple, 
with  all  its  worldly  pomp.  In  fact,  the  priesthood  of  the 
Temple  were  finally  compelled  to  make  concessions  to  the 
lay  movement  of  the  Hasidim.  They  added  a  prajer 
service,  morning  and  evening,  to  the  daily  sacrifices,  and 
opened  the  Hall  df  Hewn  Stones,  the  meeting  place  of 
the  High  Court  of  Justi'  e,  as  a  Synagogue  in  charge  of  the 
priests.' 

8.  In  this  manner  the  ancient  sacrificial  cult,  thus  long 
monopolized  by  the  priesthood,  was  gradually  superseded 
by  congregational  prayer  which  was  no  longer  confined  to  a 
certain  time  or  class,  and  justly  called  by  the  rabbis  "a  serv- 
ice of  the  heart."  *  Moreover,  the  Temple  itself  lost  much 
of  its  hold  upon  the  hearts  of  the  people,  owing  to  the  more 
spiritual  character  of  the  Synagogue.  Thus  the  torch  of  the 
Roman  soldiery  which  turned  the  Temple  into  a  heap  of  ashes 
broke  only  the  national  bond,  but  left  the  religious  bond  of  the 
Synagogue  unbroken.  True,  the  hope  for  the  restoration  of 
the  Temple  with  the  priestly  sacrifices  was  not  relinquished, 
and  officially  the  daily  prayers  were  considered  only  a  "tem- 
porary substitute"  for  the  divinely  ordained  sacrificial  cult.* 

'  See  I  Kint^s  VIII,  48;   Dan.  VI,  11.  '  Isa.  LVI,  7. 

'Tamid  V,  i;   comp.  Kohler:  Monatspchr.,  1893,  p.  441. 
«  Sifre  Deut.  41 :  "What  is  meant  by,  'To  serve  Him  with  all  your  heart?' 
this  is  prayer." 
=  Ber.  io  a. 


ir 


IJ 


>w,\»-  •»-«<«^.■■ft«'iV.v  fSr 


^      -JB*  ■  •ir.    'i'-^t 


268 


JEWISH  THEOLOdY 


■».  ■  t 


in'j 


'  ,S' 


Nevertheless,  the  deeper  religious  consciousness  of  the  people 
felt  that  tho  celesl-.il  gate  «)f  divine  mercy  opens  only  to 
prayer,  which  emanates  from  the  innermost  depths  of  the 
soul.  Accordingly,  some  of  the  Haggadists  try  to  prove  from 
Scripture  that  {)rayer  ranks  above  sacrifice,'  while  others 
even  identify  worship  with  prayer.^  They  represent  God  as 
appearing  to  Moses  in  the  guise  of  one  who  leads  the  congre- 
gation in  prayer.  His  face  covered  by  the  prayer-shawl  (lallitlt), 
in  order  to  teach  man  for  all  time  the  mode  and  power  of 
prayer.'  Still  these  remain  isolated  expressions  of  an  un- 
derlying sentiment ;  on  the  whole,  the  rabbis  regarded  the 
Mosaic  legislation,  with  its  emphasis  on  sacrific  far  too 
highly  to  accord  prayer  any  but  a  secondary  place,  either 
accompanying  sacrifice  or  as  its  substi»ute.* 

Q.  Through  many  centuries,  then,  the  belief  in  the  divine 
origin  of  the  sacrificial  cult  remained,  even  though  it  could 
no  longer  be  carried  out.  The  liturgy  contained  prayers 
for  the  speedy  restoration  of  the  Temple  and  the  sacrifices, 
which  were  preserved  by  tradition,  and  nowhere  was  even  an 
echo  heard  of  the  bold  words  of  Jeremiah  denying  the  divine 
character  of  the  sacrifices,'"  even  though  the  idea  of  the  res- 
toration of  the  old  cult  must  have  been  repugnant  to  thinkers. 
The  sages  of  former  ages  could  only  resort  to  a  compromise 
or  an  allegorical  interpretation.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the 
Haggadist  Rabbi  Levi  considered  the  sacrifices  a  concession 
of  God  to  the  people,  who  were  disposed  to  idolatry,  in  order 
to  win  them  gradually  for  the  pure  monotheistic  ideal.*  This 
view  was  adopted  by  the  Church  Fathers,  and  later  by  Mai- 
monides  and  other  medieval  thinkers.  On  the  other  hand, 
an  allegorical  meaning  was  assigned  to  the  sacrifices  by  Philo 

'  Ber.  32  1) ;   Midr.  to  Sam.  I,  7.  '  ^-  d.  R.  El.  XVI. 

3R.  ha.Sh.  17  b. 

*  McK.  31  b;   Yer.  Taan.  IV,  68  c.     But  compare  Isaac  Aboab :  Menoraih 
ha  Maor,  III,  3  a;   Bahya  ben  .\shcr  :  Kad  ha  Kimah,  art.  TrJiUah. 
6  Jcr.  VI,  22.  °  Lev-  R.  XXII,  5. 


■^^j&''mx>j{>if''»i^M^^i!mT^r^-^^^^^9»issmt'ii}.fm j"' '  ■  ..Tiigt'^p^ jjCv^ss^i^Ti^'^^srfi; .r *v 


PRAYER   AND   SACRIFICK 


2lK) 


ami  Jt'huda  ha  Levi,  as  well  as  by  Samson  Kapliael  Hirsch  in 
nn.dern  time^.' 

Reform  Judaism,  rccognizinj;  the  results  of  Hil)liral  resean  h 
and  the  law  of  religious  progress,  adopted  the  proi)hetie  view 
of    the   saerit'ues.     Aeeordingly,    the   sairifuial    rult    of    the 
Mosaic  code  has  no  validity  for  the  liberal  movement,  and 
all  reference  to  it  has  been  eliminated  from  tli    reform  liturgy. 
In  this,  however,  the  connec  tion  with  the  past  was  by  no  means 
severed.      The  main  part  «)f  the  service  remains  the  same, 
although  much  of  the  character  ami  many  of  the  details  have 
been  changed.'     Only  the  allusions  to  the  Tem{)le  worship  and 
the  sacrifices  were  eliminated,  and  the  entire  form  of  the 
service  was  made  more  si)lemn  and  inspiring  "  by  combining 
ancient    time-honored    formulas   with   modern    prayers   and 
meditations  in  the  vernacular  and  in  the  spirit  of  the  age." 
The  morning  and  evening  services  retained  their  places,  while 
the  additional  festal  service  (mussaf)  was  abrogated,  because 
it  stood  for  the  additional  festal  sacrifice.     As  to  the  volun- 
tary element  in  the  old  sacrificial  system,  the  peace,  sin,  and 
thank-offerings,  this  is  replaced  in   the  reform   ritual,   as    in 
the   traditional   practice,   by   private  devotions   for   special 
occasions,  to  be  selected  by  the  individual. 

The  traditional  Jewish  prayer  has  certainly  a  wondrous 
force.  It  remains  a  source  of  inspiration  from  which  the 
religious  consciousness  will  ever  draw  new  strength  and 
vitality.  It  echoes  the  voice  of  Israel  singing  the  song  of 
redemption  by  the  Red  Sea:   "This  is  My  (lod,  and  I  will 

>  Cuzari,  II,  25,  see  note  by  Cassel ;  .\ror,h.  II F,  32  ;  iom|).  .\Ii.irash  Tadshe 
12;   I,  177  f.;  comp.  Hebrews  IX-X ;  Bani.itui'.:  I,  jj.     S.  R.  Hirsrh  in  llonb 

P-  <>30  f-  ,       ,  .  . 

2  See  Philipson :    The  Reform  Movcmenl  in  Judaism  for  the  various  views 

anH  debates  on  sacrifice  and  prayer.     I.  Kiboyen  :    D.  jiuJ.  Gxltesdiensl  i.   s. 

geschiehll.  Enl'u.ickliing,  p.  374  fv43S  f-  i^  ^^rilten  in  a  more  conservative  spirit 

and  unfavorable  to  American    Reform  Judaism.     Comp.  for   the    traditional 

liturgy  :  Dembitz  :    Je'j.'i'sh  Services  in  the  Synaf,of.iie  a)id    Home,  especially  on 

ihe  Fraycrbook,  p.  2^-240,  and  for  .\iiiL-f:t.a,  4y7-4yy. 


1 


'■Z^^^j.J^y-d'iStS^n 


'T«wr?r»^'iff?.»««*TPB^K^r«r 


"Aim 


270 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


glorify  Him;  My  father's  CkmI.  and  I  will  exalt  Him."* 
C\)nsi(jurntly  t»ur  liturgy  must  ever  rcsiM)n(l  to  a  double 
demand ;  it  must  thn)b  with  the  spirit  of  continuity  with 
our  ureat  past,  to  make  us  feel  one  with  our  fathers  of  yore; 
and  it  must  express  il-arly  and  fully  our  own  views  and  needs, 
our  convictions  and  our  h«)iH's. 

•  l.x.  XV,  i. 


-1    .! 

mi 


ill 


•     ! 


H 


\-\        ' 


fii 


^.•j  .jrrr<*\  ".•■". 


-BIF7  i3  ■*-a.itniw-simc 


CHAPTKR  XLII 

The  Nature  and  Pukposk  of  Prayer 

I  Prayer  is  the  expression  of  man's  longing  and  yrarninR 
for  God  in  times  of  dire  need  and  of  overllovving  joy,  an  out- 
How  of  the  emotions  of  the  soul  in  its  dependence  on  God, 
the  ever-present  Helper,  the  eternal  Source  of  its  existence. 
Springing  from  the  deepest  necessity  of  human  weakness,  the 
expression  of  a  momentary  wish,  prayer  is  felt  to  he  the  proud 
prerogative  of  man  as  the  child  of  God,  and  at  last  it  becomes 
adoration  of  the  Most  High,  whose  wisdom  and  whose  paternal 
love  and  gomlncss  inspire  man  with  lonfidencc  and  love. 

2.  Every  prayer  is  offered  on  the  presumption  that  it  will  be 
heard  by  God  on  high.  "O  Thou  that  hearcst  prayer,  unto 
Thee  doth  all  tlesh  come,"  sings  the  Psalmist.*  No  doubt  of 
the  efficacy  of  prayer  can  arise  in  the  devout  spirit.  There 
can  be  only  the  que^-tion  whether,  and  how  far,  the  Deity  can 
allow  its  decrees  to  be  influenced  by  human  wishes.  Childlike 
faith  anticipates  divine  interference  in  the  natural  order  at 
any  time,  because  it  has  not  yet  attained  the  conception  of  a 
moral  order  in  the  universe  and,  therefore,  expects  from  prayer 
also  miraculous  ettects  on  life.  As  the  Deity  can  suddenly 
send  or  withhold  rain  or  drought,  barrenness  or  birth,  life  or 
death,  so  tnc  inference  is  that  the  man  of  Goil  can  do  the  same 
with  his  prayer.  This  is  the  point  of  view  of  the  Biblical  and 
Talmudic  periods,  as  well  as  of  the  entire  ancient  world.  It 
seems  almost  childish  to  our  religious  consciousness  when, 

*Ps.  LXV,  3.  See  Wtn.  James:  Varieties  of  Rrl.  Experience,  463-477; 
Foster:  Function  of  Religion,  183-185  ;  .Vb-jlson  :  Jewish  Myilicim,  p.  15  and 
Ctscwhcrc. 

271 


▼.iF»T    IP  iiK**"    T*  »»*  •.  r'.'T.T^w:  :; 


\;iJ^Tntt..TA   MflC  .*1^» 


f-MX-ei"-*'^  <l\. 


273 


JEWISH  tmkol<h;y 


I'* 


according  to  Talmudic  tradition,  the  high  priest  jM?titioned 
(lod  in  the  Sanctuary  on  the  Day  of  Atontnunt  ft)r  a  year 
rich  in  rain  and  hlesM<i  with  sunshine  and  with  dew,  and  at  the 
same  time  exprensi-d  the  entreaty  that  the  {)rayers  of  trawlers 
for  dry  or  cool  weather  should  tiiul  n<.  hearing'  'I'h  it  the 
prayers  of  the  |)ious  may  aUer  liotl's  de«  ree  is  not  douf)te.'  f  >r 
a  moment  hy  the  ral)»)is;  only  they  insist  that  (iod  has  taken 
into  account  luforehand  the  etVu  acy  ..f  this  prayer  in  det  iding 
the  fate  of  the  j)ious.  in  order  that  they  may  petition  for  that 
which  He  actually  plans  to  do.  "CmmI  longs  for  the  prayer  of 
the  pious";  for  that  reason,  they  say.  the  Mothers  of  Israel 
were  atllicted  with  barrenness,  until  the  prayers  of  the  Pa- 
trianhs  ha('  accomplished  the  transformation  in  their  con- 
stitutions'- On  the  other  hand,  the  rabbis  warn  against 
excessive  pon<lering  over  prayer  and  its  etVicacy,  as  through  it 
that  childlike  faith  would  be  weakened,  which  is  the  basis  of 
all  prayer.' 

3.  According  to  the  rabbinic  viewpoint,  prayer  has  the 
power  to  reverse  every  heavenly  decree,  inasmuch  as  it  appeals 
from  the  punitive  justice  of  GckI.  which  has  decided  thus,  to 
His  attributes  of  grace  and  mercy,  which  can  at  any  time  effect 
a  change.  When  the  prophet  Isaiah  came  to  King  Hczckiah 
with  the  message:  "Set  thine  house  in  order,  for  thou  shalt 
die,"  he  replied,  "  iMnish  thy  message  and  go ;  I  have  rccclve<l 
the  tradition  from  my  royal  ancestor  David  that,  even  w'.cn 
the  sword  already  touches  the  neck,  man  shall  not  desist  from 
an  appeal  to  the  divine  mercy."*  Nay  more,  the  rabbis 
believed  that  (Iod  Himself  prays,  saying, "Oh,  that  My  mercy 
shall  prevail  over  My  justice  ! "  '"  Only  after  the  divine  judg- 
ment has  been  executed  prayer  becomes  vain.  In  general, 
the  entire  Talmudic  period  ascribed  miraculous  power  to 
prayer,  especially  the  prayers  of  the  pious,  like  the  popular 


'  Voma  ?«  b. 
'  Bcr.  ss  a. 


'  Ycb.  64  a;   Ex.  R.  XXI.  6. 
«  Ber  10  a.  »  Ber.  7  a. 


THE   NATIRK  AM)   I'l  KI-OSK  OK   rkWKR 


ns 


saint  OniiiH  «)r  lianinu  hvn  Dona'  In  many  Hii.h  iasfHthc 
inviKati«)n  t)f  (»<>il  was  i(»ml)inrcl  with  ihr  uso  of  thi*  H4urt'<l 
nanu',  the  tctraKranunaton.  to  whii  h  ma«ital  |M)Wir>*  were 
usiril>fc|.' 

4.  The  tw.i  attributes  «)f  (1«mI,  Jii«.ti»r  and  Merry,  corre- 
spond to  the  double  nature  of  mankind,  a-,  the  >inful  man.  who 
ileserves  punishment,  i>  « ailed  to  account  by  the  former,  while 
the  righteous  man  may  appeal  to  the  latter  ,\c  rordin^ly,  the 
ctVuaiy  of  prayer  eoulil  be  so  explauu<l  that,  before  it  can 
influence  the  ilecision  oi  (i'MJ.  i»  deman<U  the  reformation  of 
man.  While  the  unre>;enerate  man  meel>  an  evil  destiny, 
the  reft)rmeil  man  has  become  a  dilTerent  beinj,',  and  hence  in- 
stead «)f  justice  mercy  will  control  l^i^  fate.  Albo  pleads  for 
this  view  of  prayer,  when  he  cites  the  I'almudic  incident  alH)Ut 
R.  Meir.  It  is  said  that  R.  Meir  interceded  for  the  people  of 
Mimla.  who  all  seemed  to  have  l)een  doomed  to  die  on  attain- 
ing manhood  because  they  inherited  the  curse  of  the  priestly 
family  of  Kli.'  But  he  also  recommended  to  them  that  they 
should  devote  their  live>  to  worthy  deeds,  as  it  is  said  in  the 
Proverbs:*  "The  hoary  head  is  a  crown  of  glory,  it  is  found 
in  the  way  of  righteousness."  '•' 

Other  thinkers  ascribe  to  prayer  the  jwnver  to «  hang-  the 
fate  determined  by  the  stars,  because  it  exalt  la  1  i'  a 
higher  sphere  of  godliness,  exactly  like  the  spirit  oi  i)r 
Of  course,  this  conception  is  connected  with  the  K 
astrology,  which  swayed  even  clear  thinker-  like  ibn  I 

5.   According  to  our  modern  thinking  thii'  can  be  1 
tion  of  any  influence  upon  a  Deity  exalted  above  u  '^ 

»Taan.  111,8;   Ber.  V,  0;   Flahl.  34!),  Vcr  <> 't 

'Pes.  K.  XXII,  p.  114  I);    Midr.  Teh.  IN.  XCI,.S;    :.ci;  SchcdUcr  .  A        '■ 

156;  43. 

'I  Sam.  II,  31.  M'rov.  XVI,  3J. 

'  Gen.  R.  LIX,  i ;  Ych.  105  a,  wluro  K.  J.)h.inan  ben  Zakkai  is  menion 

instead  of  R.  Meir;   Albo;  Ikkurim,  l\',  iH. 

«t:__c.„:_ u»..:.l....  .    ii... ;,.,...  ih„  ;."-r.i    i  >A  iT 


cy. 
in 


•.ua.<-7   LK  (•  ■  .•»<:\  «  JKT'.i'X  tar' 


374 


JKWISII  THKOLfKlV 


K 


I..-'- 


I 


Ul 


i    I 


itpacr,  omni-kirnt.  um  HanRoaljIc  In  will  and  action,  by  the 
prayer  of  mt>rtaU      Prayer  tan  iXirt  |H)Wi'r  only  over  thi-  rtla- 
tionof  man  to  (hmI,  not  over  (hmI  IlimM-lf,      TIiIh  imlKatc"*  the 
nature  i'nil  jvtriMoi  of  pr.i>«'r.     Man  often  feeh  lonely  and 
forlorn  it'  a  worhl  whit  h  overpower-*  him.  to  whi«  h  he  feels 
superior,  a".. I  yit  v,  lii(  U  he(  annot  ma?*ter.     Therefore  he  lon^s 
for  that  '..r.seen  Spirit  of  the  universe,  with  whom  aU)ne  he  feeh 
hir.M-lf  akin,  and  ir»  whom  alone  he  tiiuU  pe;ne  and  hlisn  ami<l 
life's  stru>{nle  and  unre>t      This  lonj^iri^  is  lM»th  expressed  and 
satisfied   \n   prayer.     Following    the   natural  impulse  of  his 
soul,  man  must  jMuir  t)Ut  In-fore  his  Clod  all  his  desires  and 
sighs,  all  the  emotions  of  grief  and  delight  whi»  h  sway  his 
heart,  in  order  that  iu-  may  hnd  rest,  like  a  ihild  at  its  mother's 
bosom.      Therefore  the  thildlike  mind  Ih 'ieves  that  G(m1  can 
be  induced  to  come  down  from  His  heavenly  heights  to  offer 
help,  and  that  He  can  be  moved  and  in^luencetl  in  human 
fashion.     The  truth  is  that  every  genuine  prayer  lifts  man  up 
toward  (iod,  satisfies  the  desire  for  His  hallowing  presence, 
unlocks  the  heavenly  gate  of  mercy  and  bliss,  and  bestows 
upon  man  the  beatiik  and  liberating  sense  of  being  a  child  of 
(;od.     The  intellect  may  (luestion  the  effect  of  prayer  upon  the 
physical,  mental,  »)r  social  constitution  of  man,  or  may  declare 
prayer  to  be  pious  self-deception.     The  religious  spirit  experi- 
ences in  prayer  the  soaring  uj)  of  the  st>ul  toward  anion  with 
Ciod  in  Consecrated  moments  of  t)ur  moital  pilgrimage.     This 
is  no  dcveption.     The  man  who  pra\s  receives  from  the  God- 
head, toward  whom  he  fervently  lifts  himself,  the  power  to 
defy  fate,  to  con([uer  sin.  misery,  and  (l<-ath.     "The  Lord  is 
nigh  to  all  them  that  call  upon  Him.  to  all  that  call  up  n  Him 
in  truth."  ' 

6.  To  pray,  then,  is  to  look  up  to  (iod  and  to  pour  out  before 
Him  one's  wishes,  thoughts,  sorrows,  and  joys.  Certainly  the 
All-knowing  does  not  re(iuire  to  be  told  by  us  what  we  desire 

'  I's.  CX'V,  18. 


i  :; 


rm:    NMIRK   AM)   ITRI'Osi:   OK    IKWIK 


ns 


or  what  \vc  ntcl  "I'ltr  tlurt-  i^  tuit  a  wuf.l  v\  my  toiiKui-, 
but  |..,f)L..r.|  rii.mkn.uvrHt  it  .ilt..;j!tthi  r  "'  '  H'lt  wi  inorlaN 
miTcly  a-pirr  tDwanl  Ilini  who  luar^  ll.i-  worl.l  os)  llin  rtrrnal 
arms,  in  txprrv^  in  \IU  prrvm  «•  uur  a^l'iny  aii<l  our  jul»il.ilii>n, 
Imausi-  wi'  arc  .irt.iin  ..t  Mi-'  pal.riial  ^smpathy  Wlu-ii  wc 
prai'f  aii.l  t  viol  Ilim  fur  tin-  happiiu-.^  and  tlu-  maii>  phaMin-H 
whiih  Ml-  \\A>  ^;^ml..|  u-^.  \U  luKinu's  \\w  I'arlakrr  and  Pro- 
tcdor  i»f  our  lorluiif.  ju'^t  a^  II.  i-.  our  -ympatlutii  Hi  Iprr 
wljtii  wiMry  out  to  lliiii  undiT  llu-  linnlrti  ol  Niu  itr  K'ri«l.  in  the 
anxifly  of  dandier  or  of  «uill.  Kviry  ^iinuino  prayir  rfalizi-* 
dirply  thi-  truth  of  the  worcU,  •('a-.l  thy  hur<h'n  u|)on  thi? 
Lord,  and  Ht-  will  nu>-lain  tluc."  ^ 

7.  Silf  rxpri'^^-ioti  hcforr  ( iod  in  prayt-r  ha-*  thus  a  douhli* 
elTiTt.  it  slrin«lhfn>  faith  in  (io<l^  lovi-  and  ki')dn«-ss,  as 
well  as  in  lli^all  wi-M- and  allhounliful  prt^  i.  n.  »•  Hut  it  also 
chastens  till'  dtsirts  and  firlin^s  of  man,  liaihini;  him  to 
banish  from  his  heart  ail  thoughts  of  self-nkiuK'  and  sin,  and 
to  raiM-  him>elf  toward  the  purity  and  the  frefdom  of  the 
divine  will  and  drm.iiul.  The  ixmiui-  of  e\rry  prayer  of  sup- 
plieution  i>  that  one  should  he  in  unis<m  with  the  diviiu-  will, 
to  sum  up  all  the  \  ishes  of  the  heart  in  the  one  phrasf.  "Do 
that  whiih  is  noo<l  in  Thine  t)wn  eyes,  O  Lord."*  On  the 
other  hand,  only  the  pr.iyer  whieh  avoids  impure  thout;hts  ami 
motives  ean  venture  to  ap|)roaeh  a  holy  (iod,  as  the  s.ij^es  infer 
from  the  words  of  Job.  "There  is  lU)  violenee  in  my  hands,  aiid 
my  prayer  is  pure."  ' 

8.  Kver\  prayer,  tiach  the  sapes,  should  bepin  with  the 
praise  of  (iod's  ;,'re.itne--'.  wiMloni,  and  ^'ooilness.  in  order  that 
man  should  K-arn  submi»ioii  and  impliiit  conl"idetue  before 
he  prolTers  hi>  re(iue>ts.''     While  looking  up  to  the  di\  ine  Ideal 


1 


'Ps  (■X.\XIX,4  M's.  I.V,  ij. 

•  Her.  2<>  I);    X'u-^.  IWr.  Ill,  7;    Lomj).  .Vll)o;  Ikkiinif,  IV,  J4. 

*  J..I)  WI,  17 ,   Ivx.  k.  XXII,  4 ;  «-om|).  Schcchler ;  Aspich,  228. 
'-  Ab.  Z.  /6. 


^\-rf;f^^^^^smt-:^yi^^^^  i 


a76 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


.•I 

.Hi 


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of  holiness  and  perfection,  he  will  strive  to  emulate  Him,  and 
seek  to  grow  ever  nearer  to  the  holy  and  the  perfect.  But 
only  when  he  prays  with  and  for  others,  that  is.  in  public 
worship,  will  he  realize  that  he  is  a  member  of  a  greater  whole, 
for  then  he  prays  only  for  that  which  advances  the  welfare  of 
all.  "He  who  prays  with  the  community,"  say  the  rabbis, 
"will  have  his  i)rayer  granted."  ' 

Another  saying  of  theirs  is  that  he  who  prays  should  have  his 
face  directed  to  the  sanctuary,  and  when  he  stands  on  its 
sacred  precincts,  he  should  turn  his  face  toward  the  Holy  of 
Holies.'-  By  this  they  meant  that  the  attitude  of  the  suppliant 
should  ever  be  towar..  the  highest,  making  the  soul  soar  up  to 
the  Highest  and  Holiest  in  reverent  awe  and  adoration,  trans- 
forming the  worshiper  into  a  new  character,  pure  from  all 
dross 

Q.  Therefore  prayer  offered  with  the  community  upon  the 
sanctified  ground  of  the  house  of  God  exe  is  a  specially  power- 
ful influence  upon  the  individual.  In  the  silent  chamber  the 
oppressed  spirit  may  fmd  calm  and  composure  in  prayer ;  but 
the  pure  atmosphere  of  heavenly  freedom  and  bliss  is  attained 
with  overwhelming  might  only  by  the  united  worship  of  hun- 
dreds )f  devout  adorers,  which  rings  out  like  the  roaring  of 
majestic  billows :  "The  Lord  is  in  His  holy  temple ;  let  all  the 
earth  keep  silence  before  Him."'  The  familiar  strains  from 
days  of  yore  touch  the  deep,  long-silent  chords  of  the  heart, 
and  awaken  dormant  sentiments  and  tepressed  thoughts, 
endowing  the  soul  with  new  wings,  to  lift  itself  up  toward 
God,  the  Father,  from  whom  it  had  felt  itself  alienated.  In 
the  ardor  of  communal  worship  the  traditional  words  of  the 
prayer-book  obtain  invigorating  power ;  the  heart  is  newly 
strengthened;  the  covenant  with  heaven  sealed  anew.  To 
such  communal  prayer,  which  springs  from  the  heart,  the 
rabbis  refer  the  Biblical  words,  "to  serve  Him  with  the  whole 


Bcr. 


'  Ber.  3Q  a. 


» Hab.  II,  20. 


'Jr;?iaB^t9rmM^ 


w.-.i'^Te*-*'- 


1 


THE  NATURE  AND  PURPOSE  OF  PRAYER    277 

heart." '  The  synagoKal  worship  exerts  an  ennol)linK  influ- 
ence upon  the  spirit  of  the  individual  as  well  as  that  of  the 
community.  For  after  all  the  main  object  is  that  the  soul 
which  aspires  toward  (iod  may  learn  to  find  God.  "Seek  ye 
the  Lord  while  He  may  be  found ;  call  ye  upon  Him  while  He 
is  near."  ^  No  man  is  so  poor  as  he  who  calls  in  agony  :  "O 
God!"  and  to  whom  neither  the  heaven  above  nor  the  heart 
wi  lin  answers. "  Behold,  God  is  here."  Nor  is  any  man  so  rich 
with  all  his  possessions  as  he  who  realizes,  like  the  Psalmist, 
that  "the  nearness  of  (iod  is  the  true  good,"  and  imbued  with 
this  thought  e.xclaims,  "Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  Thee? 
And  beside  Thee  I  desire  none  upon  earth."  ' 

'  Sifrc  Deut.  41.  '  Isa.  LV,  6.  •  Ps.  LXXIII,  2s.  28. 


*}) 


ii 
(If. 


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lab;*,  s'  , 

A- 4  'i 
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m  ^ 


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iHi-M, 


CHAPTER  XLIII 
Death  a\d  tiii:  Future  Life 

I.  The  vision  of  man  is  dirt'ctcd  upwards  and  forwards ;  he 
will  not  resign  himself  to  decay  in  the  dust  like  the  beast. 
As  he  bears  in  his  breast  the  consciousness  of  a  higher  divine 
world,  he  is  equally  confident  of  his  own  continuity  after 
death.  He  cannot  and  will  not  believe  that  with  the  giving 
up  of  his  last  living  breath  his  being  would  become  dust  like 
that  of  the  animal ;  or  that  his  soul,  which  has  hitherto  accom- 
plished and  planned  so  much,  should  now  suddenly  cease 
altogether  to  exist.  The  h  nging  for  a  future  life,  however 
expressed,  has  tilled  him  and  buoyed  him  up  since  the  very 
beginning  of  history.  Even  the  most  primitive  tribe  does  not 
allow  its  dead  to  lie  and  rot  like  the  carcasses  of  the  beast, 
but  lays  them  to  rest  in  the  grave  with  all  their  possessions, 
in  the  expectation  that  somewhere  and  somehow,  under,  over 
or  beyond  the  earth,  they  will  continue  their  lives,  even  in  a 
better  form  than  before. 

This  longing  for  immortality  implanted  in  the  human  soul  is 
so  represented  in  the  legend  of  Paradise  that  the  tree  whose 
fruit  bestowed  upon  the  celestial  beings  the  gift  of  eternal 
life— like  the  Greek  ambrosia,  "the  food  of  the  gods" — 
was  originally  intended  for  mankind  also  in  the  divine  "Garden 
of  Bliss."  But  after  man  fell  through  sin,  all  access  to  it  was 
denied  him,  in  order  that  he  might  not  stretch  out  his  hand  for 
it  and  thereby  attain  that  immortality  which  was  vouch- 
safed only  to  divine  beings.^  According  to  his  original  destiny, 
therefore,  man  sho'-.ld  live  forever;  and,  just  as  k"^ ;nd  allows 

»Gen  TIT,  22. 
378 


>»*3W?«BBSWS:^--.  ^^*F;?'V^'' 


«,'?^^r^i?araBr« 


DEATH   AND  THE  FUTURE  LIFE 


279 


those  divinely  elected,  like  Enoch  and  Elijah.'  to  ascend  to 
heaven  alive,  so  at  a  later  period  i)rophecy  i)redicts  a  time  when 
Gofl  will  annihilate  death  forever.'  Accordingly,  through  the 
power  of  his  diviriL-  soul  n.an  possesses  a  claim  to  immortality, 
to  eternal  life  with  Ciod,  tiie  "  Fountain  of  life." 

2.    It  was  just  this  keen  longing  for  an  energetic  life  on 
earth,  this  mighty  yearning  to  "walk  before  God  in  the  land 
of  the  living,"'^  which  made  it  more  difficult  for  Judaism  to 
brighten  the  "valley  of  the  shadow  of  death"  and  to  elevate 
the  vague  notion  of  a  shadowy  existence  in  the  hereafter  into 
a  special  religious  teaching.     Until  long  after  the   Exile   the 
Jewish  people  shared  the  view  of  the  entire  ancient  world,  — 
both  the  Semitic  nations,  such  as  the  Babylonians  and  Phoeni- 
cians, and  the  Aryans,  such  as  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  — 
that  the  dead  continue  to  exist  in  the  shadowy  realm  of  the 
nether  world  (SlicoDAhc  land  of  no  return  (5f //>(!/)  ,^  of  eternal 
silence  (Dumah).  and  oblivion  (Ncsliiyali),^  a  dull,  ghostly 
existence  without  clear  consciousness  and  without  any  awaken- 
ing to  a  better  life.     We  must,  however,  not  overlook  the  fact 
that  even  in  these  most  primitive  conceptions  a  certain  imper- 
ishability is  ascribed  to  man  as  marking  his  superiority  over  the 
animal  world,  which  is  altogether  abandoned  to  decay.     Hence 
the  belief  in  the  existence  of  the  shades,  the  Rcfaim  in  Sheol.* 
But  throughout  the  Biblical  period  no  ethical  idea  yet  per- 
meated this  conception,  and  no  attempt  was  made  to  trans- 
form the  nether  world  into  a  place  of  divine  judgment,  of 
rec()mi)ense  for  the  good  and  evil  deeds  accomplished  on  earth, ^ 
as  did  the  Babylonians  and  Egyptians.     Both  the  prophets  and 
the  Mosaic  code  persist  in  applying  their  promi.ses  and  threats, 
in  fact,  their  entire  view  of  retribution,  to  this  world,  nor  do 

•  Gen.  V,  24;  II  Kings  II,  i.  '  Isa.  XXV,  8. 
'  Isa.  XXXVIII,  II ;  Ps.  CXVI,  9. 

•  Ps.  XVIII,  s,  and  J.  E.,  art.  Belial.  '  Ps.  CXV,  17  ;   LXXXVIII,  13. 
•Isa.  XXVI,  14,  19;  Ps.  LXXXVIII,  11;  Prov.  IX,  18;  Job  XXVI,  s- 

•  Is.  XLIX,  15. 


li 


Ml 

t  *| 

in 


'II 


•.vt^- 


M«fKMH»rAi4«»^5&*at!^i-*«i«A*«K: 


280 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


.»  • 


ilk    1 


I 


they  i.uliciitc  by  a  single  word  the  belief  in  a  judgment  or  a 
weighing  of  actions  in  the  world  to  come. 

^.    Whether  the  Mosaic-prophetic  writings  be  regarded  from 
the  standpo.   t  „(  traditional  faith  or  of  historical  criticism, 
the  limitation  of  their  teaching  and  exhortation  to  the  present 
life  can  be  considered  narrowness  only  by  biased  expounders 
of  the  "Old  Testament."     The  Israelitish  lawgiver  could  not 
have  been  altogether  ignorant  of  the  Egyptian  or  the  Baby- 
lonian conceptions  of  the  future  world.     Obviously  Israel's 
prophets    and    lawgivers    deliberately    avoided    giving    any 
deftnite  expression  to  the  common  belief  in  a  future  life  after 
d.ath,  especially  as  the  Canaanitish  magicians  and   necro- 
mancers used  this  popular  belief  to  carry  on  their  superstitious 
practices,  so  dangerous  to  all  moral  prog-'ss.'     The  great 
task  which  pn)phetic  Judaism  set  itself  was  to  place  the  entire 
life  of  men  and  nations  in  the  service  of  the  God  of  justice  and 
holiness ;   there  was  thus  no  motive  to  extend  the  dominion 
of  JHVH,  the  God  of  life,  to  the  underworld,  the  playground 
of  the  forces  of  fear  and  superstition.     As  late  as  the  author 
of  the  book  of  Job  and  of  the  earlier  Psalms.  Sheol  was  known 
as  the  despot  of  the  nether  world  with  its  demoniacal  forms, 
as  the  "king  of  terrors"  who  extends  his  scepter  over  the 
dead.2    (3nly  gradually  does  the  thought  find  expression  in 
the  Psalms  that  the  Omnipotent  Ruler  of  heaven  could  also 
rescue  the  soul  out  of  the  power  of  Sheol.^*  and  that  His  omni- 
presence included  likewise  the  nether  world. ■*     In  this  trustful 
spirit  the  Hasidic  Psalmist  expressed  the  hope:  "Thou  wilt 
not  abando    my  soul  to  Sheol,  neither  wilt  Thoi  suffer  Thy 
godly  one  to  .ee  the  pit.     Thou  makest  me  to  know  the  path 
of  life  ;  in  Thy  presence  is  fulness  of  joy ;  in  Thy  right  hand 
bliss  forcvermore."  •' 

'  Sec  Isa.  VIII,  19;  XXVIII,  15,  18;  I  Sam.  XXIX,  7-14. 
2  Job  XVIII,  14;  Ps.  XLIX,  15. 

'  I's.  XLIX,  16;  JuIj  XIV,  13.  '  Pi-  CXXXIX,  8. 

<■  Ps.  XVI,  lo-ii ;  Hosca  XIII  is  a  late  emendation  of  the  text. 


! 


DKATII  AND  THE   FUTURE  LIFE 


281 


I 


4.  Biblical  Judaism  i-vinccd  such  a  powerful  impetus  toward 
a  complete  and  blissful  life  with  God,  that  the  center  and  pur- 
pose of  existence  could  not  be  transferred  to  the  hereafter, 
as  in  other  systems  of  belief,  but  was  found  in  the  desire  to 
work  out  the  life  here  on  earth  to  its  fullest  possible  develop- 
ment. Virtue  and  wisdom,  righteousness  and  piety,  signify 
and  secure  true  life;  vice  and  folly,  iniquity  and  sin,  lead  to 
death  and  annihilation.  This  is  the  ever  recurring  burden  of 
the  popular  as  well  as  of  the  prophetic  and  priestly  wisdom  of 
Israel.'  In  the  .song  of  thanks  of  King  Hezekiah  after  his 
recovery,  the  Jewish  soul  e.xpres.ses  itself,  when  he  sa\s:'^  "I 
said,  I  shall  not  see  the  Lord,  even  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the 
living.  .  .  .  But  Thou  hast  delivered  my  soul  from  the  pit 
of  corruption.  For  the  nether  world  cannot  praise  Thee ; 
death  cannot  celeurate  Thee.  The  living,  the  living,  he  shall 
praise  Thee,  as  I  do  this  day.  The  father  to  the  children  shall 
make  known  Thy  truth."  Therefore  theauthor  of  the  seventy- 
third  Psalm,  ennobled  by  trials,  finds  sutVicient  comfort  and 
happiness  in  the  presence  of  God  that  he  can  spurn  all  earthly 
treasures.'  Job,  too,  in  his  affliction  longed  for  death  as  release 
from  all  earthly  pain  and  sorrow,  but  not  to  bring  him  a  state  of 
rest  and  peace  like  the  Nirvana  of  the  Indian  beggar-monk,  or 
an  outlook  into  a  better  world  to  come.  Such  an  awakening  to 
a  new  life  seems  to  him  unthinkable,  —  ./ithough  many  com- 
mentators have  often  endeavored  to  read  such  a  hope  into 
certain  of  his  expressions.*  Instead,  his  belief  in  God  as  the 
Ruler  of  the  infinite  world,  with  His  lofty  moral  purpose  far 
outreaching  all  human  wisdom,  lent  him  courage  and  power 
for  further  efTort  and  persistent  striving  on  earth.     Since  to  this 

'Deut.XXX,  10;  Jer.  XXI,8;  Kzek.  XX,  11 ;  Lev.  XVIII,  5  ,  Ps.  XXXIV, 
3;   Prov.  Ill,  22-  V,  s  f. 

» Isa.  XXXVIII,  10-20.  '  Ps.  LXXIII,  25-28. 

*  Job  XIX,  ?5  f.,  challenRcs  God  to  be  his  vindicator  on  eai  ih  or  on  his  tomb, 
testifying  to  his  riRhteousncss.  Rourrection  is  doniwi  directly:  VII,  8-21; 
XIV,  12-22.    The  whole  argument  of  the  book  e.xcludes  the  thought. 


il 


l:i 


r 


it:i 


ro'maX'it'-i.vomt.-tJt  v.w 


282 


JEWISH   TIIEOUH.V 


H . .  i 


suffcrinR  hcri).  impelled  to  dirds  by  his  own  oncrRy,  life  is  a 
continuous  battle,  a  hereafter  ;.s  a  "world  of  reward  and  pun- 
ishment" can  hardly  ^olve  the  ^reat  eni^^ma  of  human  exist- 
ence in  a  satisfactt»ry  manner  for  him.  The  wise  ones  - 
says  a  Talmudic  maxim  -  fmd  rest  mither  in  this  world  nor 
in'the  world  to  come,  but  "they  shall  ascend  from  strength  to 
strength,  until  they  apiK'ar  Ix-fore  Ciod  on  Zion."  ' 

5.    In  the  course  of  time,  however,  the  (juestion  of  existence 
after  death  demanded  more  and  more  a  satisfactory  answer. 
Under  the  severe  political  and  social  oppression  that  came 
upon  the  Jewish  people,  the  pious  ones  failed  to  see  a  just 
equation  of  man's  doings  and  his  destiny  in  this  life.     The 
bitter    disappointment    which  they  experienced  made  them 
look  to  the  God  of  justice  for  a  future,  when  virtue  would 
receive  its  due  reward  and  vi(  e  its  befittinj.'  puni  hment.     The 
community  of  the  pious  especially  awaited  in  vain  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  great  messianic  hope  with  which  the  prophetic 
words  of  comfort  had  filled  their  hearts.     They  had  willinKly 
offered  up  their  lives  for  the  truth  of  Judaism,  and  the  (iod  of 
faithfulness  could  not  deceive   them.     Surely   the  shadowy 
realm  of  the  nether  world  could  not  be  the  end  of  all      So  the 
voice  of  promise  came    to    them    from  the  book  of  Isaiah, 
where  these  encouraging  and  comforting  words  were  inserted 
by  a  later  hand  :  "Thy  dead  shall  livi' ;  thy  (My)  dead  bodies 
shall  arise.     Awake  and  sing,  ye  that  ilwell  in  the  dust,  for 
Thy  dew  is  as  the  dew  of  herbs,  and  the  earth  shall  cast  forth 
the  shades."-     Even  before  this  time  the  God  of  Israel  had 
been  praised   as  "He  who   killeth  and   maketh   alive,   who 
bringeth  down  to  Sheol.  and  bringeth  up."  »     So  was  also  the 
miraculous  power  of  restoring  the  dead  to  life  ascribed  to  the 


>  Ber.  64  a.  with  ref.  to  Ps.  LXXXIV,  4. 

«Isa.  XXVI.  19.     Rt-ad.  "thy  dead  instead  of  My  dead."     The  transla- 
tion given  iieic  iliilers  from  tnc  r.cw  tt;inr:a-,.:vr:. 
» I  Sam.  II,  6. 


j'*^??^!?? 


^^^. 


wifi^rm 


m 


K^3Bc3^BtSl!^5Sl»AJr«^*.£'.iv*ir.-l'*'    r.f. 


.*.•_.' 


DF.ATH   AND  THE   FUTIRI.   I.II  K 


28,i 


prophets.'  Furthermore,  thi  vi->ii>n  of  the  prophet  Kzekiel 
concerning  the  dry  hones  whit  h  arose  to  new  htV,  in  which  he 
beheld  the  divine  revehition  of  the  ;i|)j)roa(  hin«  event  of  the 
restoration  of  the  Jewish  nation,"  >hows  how  familiar  the  idea 
of  resurrection  nni>t  have  been  to  the  people.  IKiue  the 
minds  of  the  Jewi^li  i)eo|)le  were  sulTuieiitly  prepared  to  adopt 
the  Persian  belief  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 

6,  This,  however,  led  It)  a  tremendous  process  of  trans- 
f«)rmation  in  Judaism  with  a  wide  chasm  between  Mosaism 
and  Rabbini^m,  or,  more  accuralely,  between  the  Sadducees, 
who  adhered  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  and  the  Pharisees,  who 
embodied  the  progressive  spirit  of  the  peoj)le.  On  the  one 
hand.  Jesus  ben  Sira,  who  at  the  close  of  his  book  speaks  with 
great  admiration  of  the  hi>ih-prie>t  Simon  the  Just  as  his  (.on- 
temporary,  knew  as  yet  nothing  of  a  future  life,  and  like 
Koheleth  saw  the  end  of  all  human  existence  in  the  dismal 
realm  of  the  nether  world.  Vet  at  the  same  time,  the  Hasi- 
dim  or  pious  ones  and  their  successors,  the  Pharisees,  were 
deveIo;)ing  after  the  Persian  pattern  the  thought  of  a  divine 
judgment  day  after  death,  when  the  just  were  to  awaken  to 
eternal  life,  and  the  evil-doers  to  shame  and  everlasting  ton- 
tempt.^  This  advanced  moral  view,  frequently  overlooked, 
transformed  the  ancient  Semitiv-  She;)l  from  the  realm  of 
shades  to  a  place  of  punishment  for  sinners,  and  thus  invested 
it  with  an  ethical  purpose.'  After  this  the  various  Biblical 
names  for  the  nether  world  became  the  various  divisions  of 

'  II  KinRS  rV,  20-i7-  "  I"'^'''<    XXXVII,  1-14. 

■'  Dan.  XII,  2.  anil  comp.  II  Mair.  \'II,  0  3'';  XII,  43.  an-1  thf  .\pocalyptic 
books  such  as  KniKli,  Test.  Twilvi-  P.itri.in  lis  Juhikcs.  I's.ilms  of  Solomon, 
IV  Kzra  and  Baruc  li  Apocalyii-t-,  wlu-rta-  I  Man..  Judith  and  Tobit,  belonging 
to  the  Sadiiucean  circles,  never  allude  to  tlir  future  life. 

'Passages  like  Ps.  IX,  18;  XI,  6;  Xl.I.X,  1,.  eomi).  with  Isa.  XXXIII, 
14;  LXV,  :i:  .Mai.  Ill,  10.  knt  thmsehes  esiMcially  to  this  conception  of 
Shell  as  a  fiery  pl.ice  of  punishment  i'l'iitit'ied  afterwards  with  Cihinnom. 
Jer.  VIL  31  f. ;  XIX,  6.  Sec  T.  K.,  art.  (lehenna.  and  k.  II.  Charles,  Uebrew, 
Jeii-islt  and  Christian  Eschdtology,  2d,  191J,  p.  75  f-i  'i^-  ''"o  f  •  -92  i- 


I 

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hell.'  Indi-ed,  the  Psalmists  and  the  Proverbs  had  announced 
to  the  wicked  their  destruction  in  Sheol.  and  on  the  other 
hand  held  out  for  the  godly  the  hope  of  deliverance  from  Sheol 
and  a  bcatifu  si^ht  (»f  liod  in  the  land  of  the  living.  Thus  the 
transition  was  prepared  for  the  new  world-conception.  All  the 
promises  and  threats  «if  the  law  and  the  prophets,  when  they 
did  not  receive  fultillment  in  this  world.  appeare«l  now  to 
j)oint  forward  to  the  world  to  come.  More«)ver.  the  Pharisees 
in  their  disputes  with  the  Sadducees  made  use  of  every  refer- 
ence, however  .flight,  to  the  future  life,  — even  of  such  pas- 
sages as  tho>e  whii  h  speak  of  the  Patriarchs  as  receiving  the 
promise  of  possessing  the  Holy  Land,  as  if  they  were  still  alive, 
—  as  proofs  of  the  continued  life  of  the  dead,  or  of  their  resur- 
rection.- Thus  it  came  about  that  the  leading  authorities  of 
rabbinic  Judaism  were  in  the  position  to  declare  intheMishnah  : 
"He  who  says  that  the  belief  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  is 
not  foun-^'ed  on  the  Torah  (and  therefore  does  not  accept  it) 
shall  have  no  share  in  the  world  to  come."  ' 

7.  The  foumlers  of  the  liturgy  of  the  Synagogue,  in  oi)posi- 
tion  to  the  Sadducees.  formulated  therefore  the  belief  in  resur- 
rection in  the  second  of  the  "Eighteen  (or  Seven)  Benedic- 
tions" of  the  daily  prayer  in  the  following  words:  "Thou, 
O  Lord,  art  mighty  forever.  Thou  revivest  the  dead.  Thou 
art  mighty  to  save.  Thou  sustainest  the  living  with  loving- 
kindness,  revivest  the  dead  with  great  mercy,  supportest  the 
falling,  healest  the  sick,  loosest  the  bound,  and  keepest  Thy 
faith  to  them  that  sleej)  in  the  dust.  (This  refers  to  the 
Patriarchs,  to  whom  God  has  promised  the  land  of  the  future.) 
Who  is  like  unto  Thee.  O  Lord  of  mighty  acts,  and  who 
resembleth  Thee.  O  King,  who  killcst  and  bringcst  to  life,  and 
causcst  salvation  to  spring  forth?    Yea,  faithful  art  Thou  to 


W 


>  Midr.  Tth.  Ps.  XI,  5-6;  Knib.  iq  a. 

'.Sarih.  lyO  b;  cr,rnp.  ?.Jatt.  XXII,  ,i-. 

'  Saah.  X,  i ;  sec  J.  E.,art.  Resurrection,  and  Ncumark,  art.  Ikkarimin  1.  c. 


Ai  JVltt^lK.'SXISI'tLMH  HMki^StZ-^.^^lMTZCX. 


DKATII   AND  TIIK   HTURK   LIFK 


j8s 


[ 


revive  thi-  (k;ul      Hli-sst-d  art    Thou.  O  L*>r«l,  who  revivtsl 
the  ticad.  "     In  this  prayer  clatinK  from  the  a^e  •»(  the  Man  a 
bees'  the  Jewish  lons^il)UMn•^^  »il  two  thousand  \iars  found 
a  twofol«l  ho|M-,       the  national  and  the  uni\tr-.ally  human. 
The  national  hope,  whiih  combined  the  helii  f  in  the  restoration 
of  the  kinKdom  of  David  and  of  the  sairiiiiial  lult  with  the 
resurrection  of  the  dea<l  in  the  II<»ly  Land,  ran  be  understiM)d 
only  in  lonnei  tion  with  a  historic  view  of  Israci'>  place  in  the 
world,  and  is  treated  in  the  third  part  of  this  l)o.>k.      The 
purely  human  hope  for  the  continuity  or  the  renewal  of  life 
rests  on  two  fundamental  problems  whic  h  must  be  examined 
more  closely  in  the  next  two  chapters.     The  one  belongs  to  the 
province  of  psychology  and  considers  the  (juotion  :    What  is 
the  eternal  divine  element   in  man?     The  other  goes  more 
dee|)ly  into  the  religious  and  moral  nature  of  man  and  con- 
siders the  question:    Where  and  how  does  divine  retribution 
—  reward  or  punishment    -  take  j)lace  in  human  life?     To 
both  of  these  questions  our  nnwlern  view,  with  its  special  aim 
toward  a  unified  grasp  of  the  totality  of  life,  recjuires  a  special 
answer.     This  can  be  neither  that  of  rabbinic  Judaism,  which 
rests  upon  Persian  dualism,  nor  that  of  med'eval  philosophy, 
which  was  under  the  Platonic-Aristotelian  influence, 

'  See  Singer's  Praycrb.,  44  f-.  and  .Abrahams'  .Notes,  LIX. 


f 


fH 


r 


i- 


\-\\ 


H 


niAPTKR   XLIV 
TiiK  Immoktai.  Son.  or  Man 

I.   The  idea  of  immurtality  has  been  found  in  Scriptun-  in  a 
rathir  obscun-  and  probaMy  corrupt  passaKo,'  "In  the  way 
of  rij,'htei)usness  iN  life,  ami  in  the  pathway  there()f  there  is  no 
death."     In    the    same  spirit   A(iuila.  the    Bible    translator, 
who  belonged  to  the  school  of  R.  Kliezer  an<l  R.  Joshua,  renders 
the  equally  obscure  passaR-;  from  the  Psalms.-  "He  will  lead 
us  to  immortality."  reading  nl  mavclli,  the  Al  with  AtrJ,  for 
at  mulli,  the  Al  with  Ayin.     There  i>  more  solid  foun<lation  for 
the  view  that  the  verse.  "CkmI  created  man  in  His  own  ima^c" 
implies  that  there  is  an  imperishable  divine  essence  in  man. 
In  fact,  that  whiih  (listinuui>hcs  man  from  the  animal  as  well 
as  from  the  rest  of  creation,  both  the  starry  worlds  above  and 
the  manifohl  forms  of  life  on  earth    about  him,  is  his  self- 
conscious  personality,  his  ego.  through  which  he  feels  himself 
akin  with   (iod.   the  great   worl.l-ruling  /  Am.     This  self- 
conscious  part  of  man,  which  leiid>  to  his  every  manifestation 
its  value  and  pur|)ose,  can  no  more  disappear  into  nothing- 
ness than  can  Cod,  who  called  into  existence  this  world  with  all 
its  phenomena,  who  set  it  in  motion  and  diret  ts  it.     What- 
ever thought  the  crudest  of  men  may  have  of  his  ego,  his  self,'' 
or  however  the  most  learned  scholar  may  explain  the  marvel- 
ous action  and  interaction  of  physical  and  psychical  or  spiritual 

>  I'rov.  XII.  2.**.  o.mp.  LXX,  an<l  stv  Kitt.l :  Bihl.  Ihhr..  notf. 
»  Ps.  XLVIII.  IS  ;  stf  KiUil,  note ;  Midr.  Ttli.  to  P:.alms  and  note  by  Uuber; 
Ver.  M'-'2   n   7!  h;   ^^•  K   H<  b;   I.cv.  R.  XI,  q. 
»  Sec  Tylor  i  frimilive  Culture,  Index,  s.  v.  Soul. 

286 


iiii 


BL4,1  .^:....t^ 


TIIK   IMMORIAI.  S<)1  L  OF   MAN 


a«7 


forrw  whith  ruIminatcH  in  hU  «>wn  HclfionviouH  ptTsonaHty. 
it  ap|K'ar>  rertiiin  lh;it  this  eno  lannot  cimm-  to  Ik-  with  the 
cessation  of  the  IxMlily  futu  tion-s.  There  in  in  uh  something 
divine,  immortal,  and  the  miy  (|ue.tion  is  wherein  it  may  be 
found. 

J.  The  ( reation  of  man  whit  h  U  .liMrilMni  in  the  liihh-  in 
the  wordn,  "  (Jcm!  formed  man  of  ihedu^t  of  thenroiind,  an<l 
breathed  int<»  hi>*  no«>triN  the  breath  of  life,  and  man  lu'iame 
a  livin)?  soul"  '  torresponds  to  the  thlM  like  conuplion'*  of  a 
primitive  people  On  the  other  hand,  Si  ripture  >peak>  of 
death  in  parallel  term-,  "  The  lUst  returnelh  to  the  earth  as  it 
was.  and  the  spirit  (Kuah,  the  life-KivinK  breath)  returneth 
unto  (io<l  who  j»ave  it."  - 

The  eoneeption  that  the  soul  enters  into  man  as  the  breath 
of  life  and  leaves  him  at  his  <leath,  living  toward  heaven  like  a 
bird,^  is  (juite  k  ient  and  as  universal  as  the  other,  that  the 
s«)ul  descends  it  »  the  nether  worM  as  a  sha<!  uw  imajje  of  the 
Ixxly,  there  to  (ontinue  a  dull  e.vistenc  e.      i  ire  related 

to  one  another,  and  in  the  Bible,  as  well  as  in  ti»  iture  of 

other  peoples,  they  have  j^iven  ••  e  to  <liversr  detinilioti'  of  the 
soul.  This  was  the  point  of  departure  for  the  development  of 
the  conception  of  immortality  in  one  or  the  other  direction, 
accor<ling  to  whether  the  btnly  was  ctmsidered  a  part  t)f  the 
personality  which  somehow  survives  after  death,  or  oidy  the 
spiritual  substaiuc  of  the  soul  w;«s  thought  to  liv  on  in  celes- 
tial regions  as  somethinj;  divine.  The  former  lit'  o  the  theory 
of  the  resurrecti(m  of  the  body  and  its  reunion  ..ith  the  soul ; 
the  latter  to  the  belief  in  a  future  life  for  the  soul,  after  it  had 
been  separated  or  released  from  the  body. 

3.  When  once  the  soul  was  felt  to  be  a  "lamp  of  the  Lord." 
filling  the  body  with  li^^ht  when  man  is  awake,'  it  was  easy  to 
imagine  that  the  soul  had  e.->caped  and  temporarily  returned 


'  (H-n    II,  7. 

•  Sec  J.  Iv,  art.  Birds  as  Souls. 


Mx.l.  XII,  7. 
«l'rov.  XX,  17. 


.88 


JEWISH  THKOt.tK^.Y 


H 


in 


i 

I  »•        .    *       , 


i 


•I 


W 


ili  1 1, 


%  I  • 


i.i 


to  (;<hI  in  *Uh'|)    Thin  in<lu«nl  ihe  t.'.uhoM«»(  the  SynuRonuc  to 
prt^crilic  a  morniiiK  prayrr  of  ihanki  whith  re.uh,  "  HIchsoI 
art  Thim,  O  (mhI,  wli<»  rolorr'*!  llu-  vtuU  unt.t  «Ir.ul  ImhIIcs  "  ' 
Thr  loiurplion  un<l»Tlyin«  this  pr.iyrr  ihmwH  liRht  upon  the 
entire  lulirf  in  n^urrti  tion      Ih-.ilh  t<i  the  (tiou'.  is  only  u 
|)rt)l<)nKnl  -Un-p.     On  that  unount  the  prophet  in  the  pusnage 
fn»m  h.iiah  already  referred  to.  a-*  well  an  the  Ha-idii  author 
,)f  the  Hook  of  Daniel,'  could  expre-*-*  the  hope  that  '•  thoM-  who 
sleep  in  theduM  nhall  awake"     A>s  at  every  awakening  from 
sleep  in  the  morning.  «*o  at  the  great  awakening  in  the  future, 
the  soul    whith  have  de|)arted  in  «leath  shall  return  again  to 
their  luMlies.     These  IxMlies  eouUI  then  hardly  be  tomeived  of 
as   suhjeit   to  deeom|M)sition,  and    the  pitture   in    K/eki«''s 
vision  of  resurrertion  ^  had  to  he  aiiepted  as  fait.     Still 
Simeon  h.  Vohai  in    the  especially  instructive   thirty  fourih 
chapter  of  I'irkede  R.  Klie/.er  assumes  the  complete  disintegra 
tit)n  of  the  ImkI)    in  order  to  r«'nder  the  miracle  t)f  resurrection 
so  mu(h  the  greater.     Later  still  arose  the  legerul  of  an  in- 
deslrui  tihie  !»one  ((f  the  spinal  column,  tailed  l.u:,  which  was 
to  form  the  nucleus  for  the  revival  of  the  whole  Innly.*     The 
name  Lu/.  which  denotes  ;-.r.  almoml  tree  anti  is  the  name 
given  in  the  Hihie  to  a  city  aNo,'*  seemed  to|)oint  to  a  connection 
with  two  legends,  a  fabulous  city  into  which  death  could  not 
enter,*  and  the  tree  of  resurrection  in  the  (Kiris  cycle. ^ 

4.  Still,  no  <lear,  consistent  view  of  the  m.uI  prevailed  as 
yet  in  the  rabbinic  age.  The  p«)pular  belief,  inlluencol  by 
Persian  notions,  wa>  that  the  .soul  lingers  near  the  body  for  a 
certain  time  after  it  has  relintiuished  it,  either  from  three  to 
.ven  days  or  for  an  entire  yeur."'  Furthermore  it  was  said 
that  after  death  the  souls  hovered  between  heaven  and  earth 

'  lUr.  riot);   SitiK'rr's  Pr,i\rrh.,  5.  '  !'<"   XX\  f ,  i>).    I>an    XIF,  2. 

» i;/.ik   XX.W  11,  I  f  •  I^'tl   R.  XII,  5     J    1: .  an.  Uz. 

*  judii.  I,  -•'>.  •  Sola  4(.  I). 

•  r.  d   R   lil.  XXXIV. 


f'i  •: 

i '. 

im 

rilK   IMMDRTM.  SOLI.  O^    MAN 


189 


In  the  form  «)(  gho'*!*,  able  t«)  overhear  the  net  ret^  of  the  future 
•let  ree«l  aUtve  and  to  Iwtray  them  to  hum.m  la-inK-.  IhIow. 
Iti  (ait,  the  rahlM-*  of  the  Talmuil.  eH|K«  i.illy  the  Ha-tidim, 
never  he'sit.ileil  to  aiiept  ihe^c  Kht)»t  Htorie^^  •  Some  "..i^C!*  of 
the  T.ilmudii  jHriiMl  tauKht  that  the  m.uU  of  the  rixhteoUH 
a.Htcml  to  heaven,  th.re  toilwell  under  the  thron.'of  the  divine 
majeily,  awaitinn  the  tim«-  of  the  renewal  «if  the  worUI,  while 
the  >*mU  of  the  K<Klles>  hoveretj  over  the  hori/on  of  the  earth 
as  rentiers  demoniaial  spirit-*.  Iinally  to  nut tumh  to  the  fate  of 
annihilation,  after  they  had  fnen  ea!«  clown  int"  the  liery  pit 
of  In-henna  or  Sheol  ^  Of  lourNe,  thi-*  view,  whit  h  prevails  in 
both  the  Talmud  and  the  New  Testament.  a»ror«linK  to  whiih 
the  s«>uh  of  the  wi*  ked  are  to  l>e  consumtnl  in  the  lire  of 
Gehenna,  in  in«on^i^lent  with  the  conception  of  the  purely 
spiritual  nature  of  the  soul. 

Nevertheless  at  this  same  e|MKh  we  find  the  higher  idea  ex- 
pressed that  the  soul  is  an  invisihU-.  gckl-like  cs>enee,  ptrvadinK 
the  bo«ly  as  a  spiritual  tone  and  «litTerinn  from  it  in  nature  in 
much  the  same  way  as  (mkI  is  dilTerentiatetl  fri»m  the  world.' 
•'Thou  wishesl  to  know  where  (i«Ml  dwells,  who  is  as  hii^'h  as 
are  the  heaver  .  above  the  earth ;  tell  me  then  when-  dwells 
thy  soul,  which  is  so  near,"  replie<I  R.  (iamaliel  U)  a  heathen.* 
The  prevailing  view  oi  the  schools  is  that  (iinl  implants  the 
soul  :n  the  embryo  while  in  the  mother's  womb,  to^^ellur  with 
all  the  spiritual  potentialities  whi(  h  make  it  human.  In  fact, 
R.  Simlai.  the  thinl-century  llan«a<li-.t.  advances  the  Platonic 
conception  of  the  pree.xi^tence  of  the  suul.  as  a  bein^'  of  the 
highest  intelligence,  which  sees  before  birth  all  things  through- 
out the  world,  but  forgets  all  at  birth,  so  that  all  subsefjuent 
learning  is  only  a  recollection.'^  In  Hellenistic  Judaism  espe- 
rially  the  doctrine  seems  to  hav.  been  general  of  the  preexisl- 
ence  of  the  soul,  or  of  the  ireation  of  all  human  souls  simulta- 

>  IJcr.  iM  b.  '  Shai.    lii  b.  •  Mi'lr.  Ti-h.  P>.  CIII,  i. 

'  S.iiiii.  V)  l>.  "  •■'•"•  ;-■  "• 

t 


290 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


<  > 


■f  A.     4 


t 


.(  , 

I  it-  I 

I*"'' 


U ' 


■,"!^ 


I     I: 


li; 


I'li^ 


1I;  I  i 


neously  with  the  creation  of  the  world.'    Of  course,  the  soul 
which  emanates  from  a  higher  world  must  be  eternal. 

5.  The  first  clear  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  soul  came  with 
the  [)hilosophically  trained  thinkers,  who  were  dependent  either 
on  Plato,  main  founder  of  the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  or  on  Aristotle,  who  ascribes  immortality  only  to  the 
creative  spirit  of  God,  the  supreme  Intcllij,'cnce  as  a  cosmic 
power.  The  nearest  approac  h  to  Plato  was  Philo,-  who  saw  in 
the  three  Hil)lical  names  for  the  soul,  nrjcs/i,  rmili.  and  ne- 
sluma,  the  three  souls  of  the  Platonic  system,  —  the  sensuous 
soul,  which  has  its  seat  in  the  abdomen ;  the  courageous  or 
emotional  soul,  situated  in  the  breast ;  and  the  intellectual 
soul,  which  dwells  in  the  brain  and  contains  the  imi)erishable 
divine  nature.  This  last  is  kept  in  its  physical  environment 
as  in  a  prison  or  a  grave,  and  ever  yearns  for  liberation  and 
reunion  with  God.  The  soul  of  the  righteous  enters  the  world 
of  angels  after  death  ;  that  of  the  wicked  the  world  of  demons. 

Saadia,  who  was  under  the  influence  of  Aristotle  interpreted 
from  the  neo-Platonic  viewpoint,  did  not  share  the  Platonic 
dualism  of  matter  and  spirit,  nor  did  he  divide  the  soul  into 
three  parts,  seated  in  various  parts  of  the  human  body.  He 
finds  the  >oul  to  be  a  spiritual  substance  created  simultaneously 
with  the  body,  and  uniting  the  three  forces  of  the  soul  dis- 
tinguished in  Scripture  into  one  inseparable  whole,  the  seat  of 
which  is  in  the  heart,  —  wherefore  soul  and  heart  are  often 
synonymous  in  the  Bible.  This  indivisible  substance  pos- 
sesses a  luminous  nature  like  that  of  the  spheres,  but  is  simpler, 
finer,  and  purer  than  they,  and  endowed  with  the  power  of 
thought.  It  was  created  by  God  out  of  the  primal  ether  from 
which  He  made  the  angels,  simultaneously  with  the  body  and 

'  B.  Wisd.  VIH,  10;  Slav.  Knoth  XXIF.  4,  comp.  Houssct,  1.  c,  31J  f. 

'  I'hilo;  Lcf;.  All.  Ill,  38;  Miiirat.  .\brah.  12;  De  Concupl.-centia.  2;  De 
Fortitiulinc,  3;  Driimmond  :  Philo.  I,  31S  f. ;  lientwich:  Philo.  178,  181;  Win- 
ddhand-Tuftson  Plato,  123  f.,on  I'hilo,  231,  comp.  Bou.sset.l.  c,  508;  Rhode: 
P^yuu,  jj/  1. 


Ill 
\\\ 


THE  IMMORTAL  SOUL  OF   MAN 


291 


within  it.  By  this  union  it  was  qualified  to  display  that  moral 
activity  prescribed  for  it  in  the  divine  teaching,  the  neglect  of 
which  would  defile  and  tarnish  it.  According  to  Saadia  some 
kind  of  material  substance  idheres  to  the  soul  as  well  as  to  the 
angels,  and  on  that  account  he  does  not  hesitate  to  accept  the 
Talmudic  expressions  about  the  abode  of  the  soul  a'ter  death, 
or  the  last  judgment  which  is  to  take  place  as  soon  as  the  ap- 
pointed number  of  souls  ^hiU  have  made  their  entrance  into 
their  earthly  bodies,  when  the  souls  of  the  righteous  will  have 
their  angelic  nature  recognized,  and  those  of  the  wicked  will 
have  their  lower  character  revealed.  However,  Saadia  com- 
bats with  so  much  greater  fervor  the  Hindu  teaching  of 
metempsychosis,  which  had  been  adopted  by  Plato  and  Py- 
thagoras.' 

Bahya  connects  his  theory  with  the  three  souls  of  Plato, 
and  likewise  ascribes  to  the  soul  an  ethereal  essence.-  He  holds 
that  its  destiny  is  to  raise  itself  to  the  order  of  the  angels 
through  self-purification,  and  finally  to  return  to  God  as  the 
divine  Source  of  light.  To  this  end  the  intellectual  soul,  which 
has  its  being  from  the  primal  light,  must  overcome  the  lower 
sensuous  soul  which  leads  to  sin. 

6.  The  conception  that  the  soul  is  a  substance  derived  from 
the  luminous  primal  matter,  like  the  heavenly  spheres  and  the 
angels,  was  now  persistently  retained  by  the  Jewish  thinkers, 
who  explained  thereby  its  immortality.  In  adopting  the 
Aristotelian  theory  that  the  soul  is  the  form-prirciple  of  the 
body,  the  Platonic  doctrine  of  its  preexistcnce  was  gradually 
relinquished,  and  its  existence  ascribed  to  a  creative  act  of 
God  at  the  birth  of  the  child  or  at  its  conception.  But  Jehuda 
ha-Levi,  the  most  pious  of  all  the  philosophers,  emphasized 
vigorously  the  indivisibility  of  the  soul,  its  incorporeality  and 

»  Emimolh,  Ch.  VI ;  SchmiecU,  1.  c,  135  f. ;  Xeumark,  1.  c,  I,  536  f. ;  Husik, 


1.  c,  376. 


'Ncurnark, !  r 


Husik. !.  c.  108  f  ;  J  F  ,  -irt.  Bahya. 


-r^o? 


h; 


"I' 


4 


Pi  V: : 


Ifci 


?a 


mi 

Mill. 


293 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


11  -      ! 


its  reality  apart  from  the  condition  of  the  body,  and  -  in 
opposition  to  the  Aristotelian  free-thinkers,  who  expected  the 
human  soul  to  be  absorbed  into  the  divine  soul,  the  active 
intellect,  -  he  declared  the  immortality  of  the  individual  a 
fundamental  article  of  faith.' 

Now  some  of  the  Jewish  thinkers,  following  Jehuda  ha  Levi, 
Ibn  Daud,  and  others,  though  Aristotelians,  shrank  from  the 
logical  conclusion  of  denying  all  individuality  to  the  soul,  and 
attributed  to  it  rather  a  process  of  pur-fication,  which  ends  with 
the  elevation  of  the  soul-essence  to  angelic  rank  and  thus 
guarantees  its  immortality.  Nut  Maimonides,  who  ac- 
cepted with  inexorable  earnestness  the  Aristotelian  idea  of 
form  as  the  perfection  of  matter.  The  essence  of  the  human 
soul  is,  for  him,  that  force  or  potentiality  which  qualit'ies  it  for 
the  highest  development  of  the  intellect,  and  is  alone  capable 
of  grasping  the  di\  ine.  Vet  it  can  acquire  a  part  in  the  crea- 
tive World-spirit  only  in  the  same  degree  as  it  unfolds  this 
potentiality  to  share  the  divine  intellect,  whose  seat  is  the 
highest  sphere  of  the  universe.  Hy  dint  of  this  acquired 
intelligence  it  can  live  on  as  an  independent  intellect,  in  the 
image  of  God,  and  thus  attain  beatitude  in  the  contemplation 
of  Divinity. - 

7.  Naturally  the  view  of  Maimonides,  thi\t  a  certain  measure 
of  immortality  is  granted  only  to  the  wist,  -  though  they  must 
be  morally  perfect  as  well,  —  aroused  great  opposiiicm.  Has- 
dai  Crescas  proves  its  untenableness  by  asking,  "Why  shall 
the  wise  alone  share  in  immortality?  Furthermore,  how  can 
something  that  c;^me  into  existence  in  the  course  of  human 
life  suddenly  acciuire  eternal  duration?  Or  how  can  there  be 
any  bliss  in  the  know  ledge  of  God  where  there  is  no  personality, 

'Cnziiri.  V,  12.  Sec  Cus..cl,  notes;  Scluiiifill,  1.  c,  141;  N'cumark,  1.  c, 
561  ;   Husik,  1.  c,  I7Q  f. 

2Sclimic(ll,  I,  c,  140;  Ncum.irk,  !.  c,  5,^6  f.,  551.  Si^,  573,  .186;  Husik, 
1.  c,  2S1  f.  Comp.  Stheycr:  d.  Psychol.  6>^  d.  Maim.;  Simon,  Aspects  0/ 
llui  Iltbrtu.  Otw/11.1,  75"7S,  So. 


U    '* 


THE  IMMORTAL  SOUL  OF   MAN 


293 


no  self-conscious  ego  to  enjoy  it?"  Therefore  Crestas 
ascribed  to  the  soul  an  indoslrui  lihle  spiritual  essence 
whose  perfection  is  attained,  nut  by  mere  intellei  t  or  knowl- 
ed^'e,  but  by  love  of  (iod  manifcste<i  in  a  religious  and 
moral  life,  and  which  is  thereby  made  to  share  in  eternal  ' 
bliss.' 

8.  All  these  various  thinkers  find  the  future  life  cither  ex- 
pressed or  su^i^ested  in  the  Scrii)tures  as  a  truth  based  upon 
reason.  This  is  especially  the  concc[>tion  of  .\braham  ibn 
Daud,  who,  contrary  to  his  Aristoiclian  succt-ssor  Maimonides, 
sees  in  self-consc  iousncss,  by  which  the  soul  differentiates  itself 
from  the  body  as  a  personality,  the  proof  that  it  cannot  be 
subject  to  fiissolution  with  the  body.'-' 

Besides  the  philosoi)hic  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  however,  the  traditional  belief  in  the  resurrection  of  the 
body  •'  anded  some  consideration  on  the  part  of  these 
philosophers.  Saadia  defends  the  latter  with  all  his  might, 
endeavoring  to  reconcile  the  two  as  best  he  can.^  All  the  rest 
leave  us  in  doubt  whether  resurrection  is  to  be  understood 
literally  or  symbolically.  Maimonides  especially  in\olves 
himself  in  diflkullies,  inasmuch  as  in  his  commentary  on  the 
Mishna  he  considers  the  resurrection  of  the  (\c:u\  an  unalter- 
able article  of  faith,  whereas  in  his  Code"  and  in  the  Moreh 
he  speaks  only  of  immortality  ;  and  again  before  the  end  of  his 
hfe  he  wro:-.  obviously  in  self-defense,  a  work  which  seems 
to  favor  bodily  resurrection,  yet  without  clarifying  his  con- 
ceptions at  any  time.*  The  belief  in  resurrection  had  taken 
too  deep  a  root  in  the  Jewish  consciousness  and  had  been  too 
firmly  established  through  the  liturgy  of  the  Synagogue  for  any 
philosopher  to  touch  it  without  injuring  the  very  foundations 
of  faith. 

'  Or  AJimai,  II,  6  ;  Joel  :    "Crr.^ois"  ;   Ilusik,  1.  c,  400. 

2  Emuiiah  Ramali,  30;    Husik,  1.  c,  250  b. 

5  Emiiiiolh,  VII.  '  H-  Tishuhah,  VIII,  2. 


r 


t 


it 


H 


i 


294 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


I      ■'   l> 

J*  » *  , 

la*'  V 


m 


Moreover,  beside  external  caution  a  certain  inner  need 
seems  to  have  impelled  toward  the  acceptance  of  resurrection. 
As  scK)n  as  one  thinks  of  the  soul  as  existing  or  continuing  to 
live  in  an  incorporeal  state,  one  is  involuntarily  led  toward  the 
belief  in  the  soul's  prcexistence  or  even  in  the  possii)ility  of 
metempsychosis.  Thus  it  seemed  more  reasonable  to  belie\ 
in  a  new  formation  of  the  human  body  together  with  a  new 
creation  of  the  world.  Therewith  came  the  disposition  to 
assign  to  the  soul  in  the  future  world  a  body  of  tiner  substance, 
like  that  assumed  by  the  mystic  Xahmanides,'  in  order  to 
assure  to  the  new  humanity  a  wondrous  duration  of  life  like 
that  of  Klijah. 

9.  While  the  popuh'.i  philosopher  Albo  rightly  declares  that 
the  nature  of  the  soul  i:  as  far  beyond  all  human  understanding 
as  is  the  nature  of  God,-  the  mystics  sought  all  the  more  to 
penetrate  its  secrets.  The  Cabbalah  also  divides  the  soul 
into  three  different  substances  according  to  the  three  Biblical 
names  assigning  their  origins  to  the  three  different  spheres  of 
the  universe,  and  reiterating  the  Platonic  theory  of  the  prc- 
existence of  the  soul  and  its  future  transmigration.  This 
division  into  three  parts  provided  scope  for  all  t\pes  of  theories 
concerning  the  soul  in  its  sensuous,  its  moral,  and  its  intellec- 
tual nature.  Fundamentally  the  Cal>balah  considered  the 
soul  an  emanation  from  the  divine  intellect  with  a  luminous 
character  just  like  the  philosophers.  But  in  the  Platonic 
view  of  the  ascending  order  of  creation,  which  forms  the  basis 
of  the  Cabbalah,  this  mundane  life  is  an  abyss  of  moral  deg- 
radation, so  that  the  soul  ycarr..  toward  the  primal  Source  of 
light,  tinaliy  to  find  freedom  and  bliss  with  God.^  Thus  the 
later  Cabbalah  returned  to  the  teachings  of  Philo,  the  Jewish 
Plato,  for  whom  death  was  only  the  stripping  off  of  the  earthly 
frame  in  order  to  enter  the  puio  and  luminous  world  of  God. 

'  In  Schaar  ha  Grmul.  '  Ikkarim,  IV,  js. 

*Zoluir,  I,  90  b;  Ydk.  Reubcni  to  Dt.t.  XIX,  2;  J.  E.,  art.  Cabala. 


II   r 


THE  IMMORTAL  SOUl.  OF  MAN 


295 


(' 


10.   With  Moses  Mendelssohn,  who  in  his  Phanlon  tried  to 
translate  Plato's  proof  of  immortality  into  modern  terms,  a 
new  attitude  toward  the  nature  and  *,  ^tiny  of  the  soul  arose 
in  Judai-^m  amon^  both  the  philosophers  and  the  educated 
laity.     Mendelssohn  not  only  endeavored  to  prove   the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul  through  its  indivisibility  and  incorporcal- 
ity,  as  all  the  neo-IMatonists  and  Jewish  ijhilosophers  had  done 
before  him;   he  alsi)  attempted  to  show  from  the  harmonious 
plan  which  pervades  and  controls  all  of  (i<>d's  creation,  that 
the  soul  may  enter  a  sphere  of  existence  greater  in  extent  and 
content  than  the  little  span  of  earthly  life  which  it  relinfiuishes. 
The  progress  of  the  soul  toward  its  highest  unfolding,  unsat- 
isfied in  this  life,  demands  a  future  growth  in  the  direction  of 
god-like  perfection.'     At  this  point  the  philosopher  enters  the 
province  of  laith,  and  thus  furnishes  for  all  time  the  cardinal 
point  of  the  belief  in  immortality.     The  divine  s[)irit  in  man, 
which  is  evinced  in  the  self-conscious,  morally  active  personal- 
ity, bears  within  itself  the  proof  and  promise  of  its  future  life. 
Moreover,  this  corresponds  with  the  belief  in  Clod  as  One  who 
rules  the  world  for  the  eternal  purposes  and  aims  of  perfection, 
who  cannot  deceive  the  hope  of  the  human  heart  foi  a  continued 
living  and  striving  onward  and  forward,  without  thereby  im- 
pairing His  own  perfection.     For  we  all  close  our  lives  without 
having  attained  the  goal  of  moral  and  spiritual  perfection 
toward  which  we  strive ;    and  therefore  our  very  nature  de- 
mands a  world  where  we  may  reach  the  liigher  degree  of 
perfection  for  which  we  long.     In  this  sense  we  may  interpret 
the  Psalmist's  verse  :  "I  shall  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake,  with 
(beholding)  Thy  likeness."  ^     That  is:    our  spirit,   when  no 
longer  bound  to  the  earth,  shall  behold  the  divine  glory,  — a 
vision  which  transcends  our  powers  of  thought. 

II.    In  the  light  of  modern  investigation,  bod]  and  soul  are 
seen  to  be  indissolubly  bound  together  by  a  reciprocal  relation 


n  !1 

i 

.t.     . 

\ 


4 


if 


I') 


*  See  Kayserling:  Muses  Mtmchiuhn,  14S  n. 


=  P..  XVII,  13. 


2q6 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


\M 


whiih  either  henffits  or  impedes  them  both.  Wherein  the 
sjjiritual  bond  exists  that  remlers  both  the  physical  organs 
with  their  muscular  and  nervous  systems  and  the  magnetic 
or  eleclric  c  urrents  \vhi(  h  set  them  in  m«)tion  subservient  to  the 
will  of  the  intellect  ;  what  the  mind  actually  is,  into  whose 
deepest  recesses  si  ience  is  casting  its  search-light  tt)  illumine 
its  processes,  —  these  are  problems  which  will  probably  remain 
ever  ini  apable  of  solution  by  human  knowledge,  and  will  there- 
fore always  atTord  new  food  for  the  imagination.  Yet  it  is 
just  in  periods  like  ours,  when  the  belief  in  (lo<l  is  weakening, 
that  the  human  spirit  is  especially  solicitous  to  guard  itself 
against  the  thought  of  the  complete  annihilation  of  its  god-like 
self-conscious  personality.  This  gives  rise  to  the  superstitious 
cfTort  to  spy  out  the  soul  by  sensory  means  and  to  find  ways  of 
seeing  or  hearing  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  —  a  tendency  which 
is  as  dangerous  to  the  spiritual  and  moral  welfare  of  humanity 
as  was  the  ancient  practice  of  necromancy.'  It  is  therefore 
all  the  more  important  to  base  the  belief  in  immortality  solely 
on  the  God-likeness  of  the  human  soul,  which  is  the  mirror  of 
Divinity.  Ju.st  as  one  postulate  of  faith  holds  that  (lod,  the 
Creator  of  the  world,  rules  in  accordance  with  a  moral  order, 
so  another  is  the  immortality  of  the  human  soul,  which,  amidst 
yearning  and  groping,  beholds  God.  The  question  where,  and 
how,  this  self-same  ego  is  to  continue,  will  be  left  for  the  power 
of  the  imagination  to  answer  ever  anew. 

12.  Certainly  it  is  both  comforting  and  convenient  to 
imagine  the  dead  who  are  laid  to  rest  in  the  earth  as  being 
asleep  and  to  await  their  reawakening.  As  the  fructifying 
rain  aw:<kens  to  a  new  life  the  seeds  within  the  soil,  so  that 
they  rise  from  the  depths  arrayed  in  new  raiment,  so,  when 
^'inched  by  the  heavenly  dew  of  life,  will  those  who  linger  in 
the  grave  arise  to  a  new  existence,  clad  in  new  bodies.  This  is 
the  belief  which  inspired  the  pious  founders  of  the  synagogal 
'  See  J.  Jastrow  :   Fact  and  Fable  in  Psychology. 


\\i  I 


THE   IMMORTAL  SOUL  OK   NL\N 


297 


liturgy  even  before  the  period  of  the  Manabees.  when  they 
expressed  their  praise  of  (iixTs  power  in  ihat  lie  would  sen«l 
the  fertilizing  rain  upon  the  vej^elation  of  the  -arth.  and  lilce- 
wise  in  (hie  time  the  revivifying  dew  upon  the  sleej>in«  world 
of  man.  Both  ap|X'ared  to  the  sa^es  of  that  age  to  Ik-  evi- 
dences of  the  same  wonder-working  power  of  (iod.  Whoever, 
therefore,  still  sees  (iod's  greatness,  as  they  did,  revealed 
througli  .niraiies,  that  is,  lliro.mh  interruptions  (.f  the  natural 
order  of  life,  may  ding  to  the  traditional  belief  in  resurrection, 
so  comforting  in  ancient  times.  On  the  other  hand,  he  who 
recognizes  the  unchangeable  will  of  an  all-wise,  all-ruling  (iod 
in  the  immutable  laws  of  nature  must  tind  it  impossible  to 
praise  (iod  according  to  the  traditional  formula  as  the  "Re- 
viver of  the  dead,"  but  will  avail  himself  instead  of  the  e.xpres- 
sion  used  in  the  Union  Prayer  liook  after  the  pattern  of  Ein- 
horn.  "He  who  has  implanted  within  us  immortal  life."  ' 

'  SitiRcr's  Pravfrb.,  4v     The  KM>.  Cunf.  of  I'lul.uUlpliia  in  iS-.,,  passed  the 
resolution  ;  "The  Ixlitf  in  the  Kisurmtion  of  tlic  Uo-ly  li.i^  n-  r.  Ii-iou.  founda 
tion  (in  Judaism),  an.i  the  d.Ktrine  of  Immortality  refers  to  the  after  e\i>tente 
of  the  Sou!  only."    Comp.  D.  I'hilipson  :  I. . .,  p.  4X9  and  4<)-'- 


^■1 


CHAPTKR   XLV 


>'  ^    \ 


■   :     !' 


Ml' 


DiviNK  Rktkihution:  Rkward  and  Punisiimknt. 

I.   The  ft'flitiK  of  i'<juity  is  dirply  rootiil  in  human  nature, 
demanding  nparalion  for  every  wanton  wronj?  and  yielding 
recognition    to   every    benevolent    act.     In    fact,    upon    this 
universal  prim  i|)le  is  i)ased  all  justice  and  to  a  certain  extent 
all  morality.     Judaism  of  every  age  compresses  this  demand 
of  the  religi«)us  and  moral  nature  of  man  into  the  d  .ctrine  : 
God  rewards  the  good  and  punishes  the  evil.     This  dot  trine, 
which  is  the  eleventh  of  Mainionides'  articles  of  faith,   con- 
stitutes the  underlying  presumption  of  all  the  Biblical  narra- 
tives as  well  as  of  the  prophetic  threats  and  warnings  and  those 
of  the  Mosaic  law,  in  so  far  as  earthly  success  and  prosperity 
were  regarded  as  the  rewards  of  G<hI  and  ear'ihly  misfortune 
and  misery  as  His  punishments.     In  the  same  degree,  how- 
ever, as  cxptTience  contradicted  this  doctrine,  anrl  as  examples 
multiplied  of   wicked    {xrsons   revelling   in    pros|KTity   and 
innocent  ones  laboring  under  adver>ity  and  woe,  it  becam.e 
necessary  to  defer  the  di\nne  retribution  more  and  more  to 
the  future  —  at  frst  to  a  future  'jn  earth  and  later  to  one  in 
the  world  to  come,  until    finally  it    developed    into  a  pure 
spiritual  conception  in  full  accord  with  a  higher  ethical  view 

of  life. 

2.  As  long  as  in  'he  primitive  process  of  law  the  family  or 
the  clan  was  held  i  sponsible  for  the  crime  of  the  individual, 
ancient  Israel  also  adhered  to  the  idea  that  "(iod  visits  the 
sins  of  the  fathers  upon  the  third  and  fourth  generation,"  as 
Jeremiah  still  did'  in  full  accord  with  the  second  command- 

'  Jer.  XXXII,  i8. 
298 


DIVINK   RKIRIBl'TION 


399 


mcnt.  It  was  in  a  far  lati-r  stajic  that  the  rahhis  jntcrprcted 
thf  words  "of  those  who  hati-  Mi"  in  the  mUm-  of  irulividual 
resiwnsibility.'  Only  in  accordann.  with  the  DfUti-ronomic 
law  which  says:  "Tho  fathers  shall  not  he  put  to  dt-ath  for 
the  rhildrcn,  neither  shall  the  children  he  [uit  to  death  for  the 
fathers;  every  man  shall  be  put  to  <leath  fur  his  own  sin,"* 
did  the  religious  consiiousness  rebel  a^'ain^t  the  thought  that 
a  later  j^eneration  should  sulTer  for  the  sins  of  it-<  aiue-^tors, 
and  hence  the  p(»pular  ada^e  arose,  "The  fathers  have  eaten 
sour  grapes,  and  the  teeth  of  the  children  are  set  (»n  edjje."  ' 
It  is  'he  prophet  K/ekiel  who  refutes  once  and  for  all  the  idea  of 
a  Kuilt  transmitted  to  ehihiren  and  (on>e(iuently  of  hereditary 
sin  and  punishment,  insisting  on  the  doctrine  that  personal 
resporsibility  alone  determines  divine  retribution.*  Hut  here 
a  new  element  alTei  ts  divine  retribution,  (iod's  lon^-sulTerin^ 
and  mercy  do  not  desire  the  immediate  punishment,  the  death 
of  the  sinner.  He  should  be  given  time  to  return  to  a  better 
mode  of  life.' 

But  the  great  enigma  of  human  destiny,  which  ve.xes  the 
author  of  the  seventy-third  Psalm  and  that  of  the  book  of 
Job,  still  presses  for  a  better  solution.  It  is  true  that  the  popu- 
lar belief  and  popular  legends  which  are  preserved  in  post- 
Bibiical  writings  as  well,  insisted  on  a  justice  which  requites 
"measure  for  measure."'  Still  in>'ght  into  actual  life  does 
not  confirm  the  teaching  of  the  pojiular  philosophy  that  the 
"righteous  will  be  requited  in  the  earth "  and  that  "evil 
pursueth  sinners."^  The  unshakeable  belief  in  the  ju>tice  of 
VjO(1  had  to  fmd  another  solution  for  life's  antinomies,  and 
was  forced  to  reach  out  for  another  world  in  which  the  divine 
righteousness  would  find  its  complete  realization. 

'  Targ.  to  Kx.  XX,  s;   Sanh.  27  h.  '  Drut.  XXI\'.  tf>. 

«Ezek.  XVIH,  2.  «  Ezek.  XVIII,  20.  •  XVIII,  23,  JJ- 

•Ex.  XVIH,   11;    XXI,  23-2=;;    Sota    I,  7-.);    Tos.  Sola    IIMV;    Sanh. 
90  a;   B.  Wisdom  XVI-XIX;  Jubiltcs  IV,  31 ;   II  Mace.  V,  10;  XV,  32. 
'  Prov.  Xi,  J I  ,   Xiii,  ^1. 


'  I 


ioo 


ji  WISH  riiK()i.o(;Y 


4 

0 


t'rt>   '    I 


V  Bihlual  Ju«laism  with  fow  rxuptions  rt. oRni/rd  only  the 
pri'Hint  worl.hmd  tht-  siihtirrani-an  wt)rl(l  of  sha.lows.  a  view 
prtscrvf.1  in  it^  iv^nti.iN  l.y  Htn  Sira  and  the  Sad<luats 
who  Wi-rc  subsciutntly  .K.'iarnl  hirctiis.  In  contract  to 
thorn  I'hari^ai.  or  Ral,l)inii  Judai-m  liarhrn  a  rfsurmlioi. 
after  diath  fur  a  lift-  ul  ilrrnal  Mi-  or  rlirnal  lortmnt .  anord- 
inR  as  thr  diviru-  judKnunt  lii>d>  om-  riKht.-..u^  and  another 
witked.  We  rnav  lea\e  a^ide  the  lon^i.leration  that  the  first 
inipuls.-  towar.l  a  Jewi.h  lulief  in  r.>urrei  lion  lame  from  the 
non-fullinnuiit  of  the  national  hope,  wherefore  it  vas  always 

In.und  up  with  the  >oil  of  the  H-lv  '"i""''  -'^  ^^'"  '"  "*■''"  '" 
Chapter  LIV.  The  faet  remain^  that  the  divine  judKUienl  to 
f.,||,.w  upon  resurrei  tion  was  eon>i>tently  re>:arde<l  as  a  ^reat 
worhl-jud-ment.  whi.  h  was  to  deei.le  the  future  \oi  ..f  all 
men  an.l  spirits.  It  nui>l  In-  note.l  als.)  that  the  apoealyptie 
and  midrashie  literature  often  identifies  the  i>i(.us  with  the 
Clod-fearin«  Israelites  as  thon-  who  shall  ari.e  to  eternal  Hfo. 
while  the  wiiked  are  identified  with  the  i.lolalrous  heathen, 
who  arc  condemned  to  eteri)  '  death,  or,  as  it  is  fre(iuently 
exj)ressed.  to  a  seeoml  death.' 

4.    Kxaetly   as   the   old    Persian    Ma/daism    expected    the 
resurrection '<.f  all,  l)othK<»od  and  bad.  the  believers  in  Ahura 
Ma/da  as  well  as  the  rest  of  humanity,  s(.  the  apoia'ivplic 
writers  prior  to  the   Talmudic  period  describe  resurrection  as 
universal :   "In  those  day  .  the  earth  will  ^ivc  back  those  who 
have  been  entrusted  to  her,  and  the  nether-worM  will  release 
that  which  it  has  received."  accordiiiK  t..  Knoch  LI.  i.     Simi- 
larly fourth  Ksdras  remarks  :  ".And  after  seven  days  of  silence 
for  all  creatures,  the  new  order  <.f  tin-  world  shall  be  raised  up, 
and  mortality  it>elf  shall  ixrish  ;    and  the  earth  shall  restore 
>  See  f.i.ai,illv  s.,nh     .,o  l.-)-'  k    rrf.    to  i:x.  VI,  4 ;    l^'ut.    XI.   <r,    IV. 
S-   XXXI    M..    I^a.X.WI.  >.,;    Dan.XIl,  .,?;    IV   l-XXII,.'.;   al....  1.x    X\ . 
,'     |o.h    VIII,   <o;    an<l  Sun«  of  Son^;s.  VII.   .0.     On  itu;  Second   D.ath   see 

tion  X\,  6,  14;  XXI,  8. 


DIMNK   RKTRtniTION 


$01 


th..M-  th;it  arr  avlr.p  in  hrr .  ami  ^<.  shall  th.-  .lust  rivc  hade 
thoM-  that  .Iwrll  in  ^ilrnu- ;  an.l  tin-  thanilHT^  shall  dilivrr 
thoM-  souU  that  w.r.  t.mimiltnl  unto  thtm  I  lu-  Mo^t  Hi^h 
^hall  apiHM'  on  llu  llimn.'  <•(  ju.l«intn!,  an.l  -hall  say  :  Ju.Ik- 
nunt  only  Nhall  nniain.  truth  ><hall  >ian<l.  ami  laith  -^hall  wax 
strong  The  ^;o.mI  .|i-.<|s  shall  IhuI  fur..-,  ami  \si.ki<l  .l..(U 
shall  n..  lun^.r  .Inp  Ihc-  lakt-nf  turmi-nt  shall  1..-  riVtalnl. 
ami  oppositr  to  it  tin-  pli>  i'  ot  joy  .  the  furna.r  of  (..hianoni 
will  In-  viMblr,  and  opposite  to  it  the  Miss  ..I"  Para.lisr.  I'hrn 
thf  Most  Ilik'h  will  sjuak  to  tlu-  luathiii  nations,  who  luvo 
awakcm«l:  hihoM  n.u  Ilim  whom  yi- havf  .Iniii.l.  wh-.m  yr 
have  n..t  si-rvnl.  whun-  t..mnian<:  yc  havr  al.h..rml.  (ia/i- 
n..w   here  an<l   tluro,       Inn-   bliss  an-l   r.st,   thrrc   l.r.-  an.l 

tornu'nt."  ' 

Th.-  rahhini.  form  of  tlu-  .l.Ktrim-  ..f  rrsurr. .  tion  i^  quite 
unamhiKUous :  '■Ih..si'  horn  into  ihr  worM  ar.-  .Usiim.l  t.) 
<lio;  thc<Ua.l,  tolivc  a^'ain  ;  ami  thost- who  mt.r  th.- worl.l 
to  comi-,  t.)  he  ju.lKi-«l"'  An«l  whrn-vi-r  tlu-  rahhini.  or 
ai)ocalyptic  litoratun-  mentions  the  shan-  of  thr  i»i.)us.  ..r  of 
Israi-I,  in  i-tt-rnal  lif.-.  this  implies  that,  while  these  enter  the 
world' t.)  e.)me.  the  evil  .loers  or  idolaters  shall  enter  hell  for 
eternal  death  ;  the  -jnderstamlin^  hein«  that  there  is  a  univer- 
sal resurreelion  for  the  w-.)rl«l  ju.l;;nunt. 

5.  Tlu-  whole  system  ..f  eMhatol<»K'y  >"  eonneetion  with 
resurreeti.m  ar.we'un.louht.-.Hy  from  the  IVr^an  <lo,  trine, 
aeeordinK  to  whieh  .leath  t..«elher  with  all  that  is  evil  an.l 
unelean  is  .reat.-.l  hy  Ahriman,  the  e\il  i)rin.iple.  an.l  will 
suffer  annihilali.)n  with  him,  as  s....n  as  the  px-.l  principle. 
.Ahura  Ma/.la.  hasaehievi-d  the  final  vi.  tory.  Then  S..shi.)sh 
"the  Savi.ir."  the  deseemlaiU  of  /.on.aster,  will  Im-kmii  his 
kingdom  .)f  eternal  life  for  the  righteous,  coin,  ident  with  the 

'  IV  Kzni  VII,  Ji  f  ;    f<>mf).   Haruch  Aihk.  4J  iT  ;  .Vlam  ct  Eva,  42;  H 
Sibvl!-.  220-?\(>:   IV  Sibyll.,  180  f. 
« Aboih  IV,  a. 


'#■<,«»■  V 


'  ht 


m 

f  . 

I » 


•!r  ;■  - 


I 


,11 


30 ' 


JKWISM    MIF.nlCK.Y 


aw.ikrninR  of  ihc  cU;ul  '     Pharinaii   JmlaiMn,  howrvcr.  gave 
tin-  h.i|H- ..(  riHurm  tinri  a  c|.r|Hr  ninral  ami  r.  liuinUH  mranint? 
The  pr<Mi^.   or   ratlur  analoKUH   from   uatun-,   of   the   M-ril-i 
*|»ririKin«  from  the  .arth  in  a  mw  form,  of  min  awaki-ning 
from  ^U'lp  in  the- morninn;.  01  of   thr  original  i  nation,  an- 
sharni  l»y  •»!.■  ralihin  an.j  ih.-  N«w  r.^ianunt  writers  with  the 
PerMans        »ii  the  other  haml,  pr<M»fs  haseil  on  the  prophetic 
hojH'  for  the  future  are  purely  national      So  aKo  are  those 
pr<M>fs  hanetl  on  the  Hil«lii  al  pas-a«e  that  the  tl.HJ  ..f  the  father* 
had  sworn  to  the  Tatriarths  to  nive  them  the  I'romis«i|  l.aml  * 
Likewisr  the  nf  A-me  to  th«'  wondrous  r«surret tions  nlated 
in  the  history  of   Klijali  aii<l    Klisha  olTers  n.i  proof  of  a  uni- 
versal resurreition      A  slrikini;  jMiint  and  one  whii  h  deepens 
the  iileaof  retribution  is  the  simile  of  the  Lame  and  the  Blind* 
employed  l»y  Jehu-la  ha  N  i>i  in  a  dialogue  with  the  Kmperor 
Antoninus.     The  latter  ha<l  said  that  at    the   last  judkinent 
lK)th  soul  and  hocly  mi«ht  deny  all  nuill.      The  hody  may 
^uy.■   "The  soul  alone  ha^  -itmed.  for  since  it  has  parte.!  from 
me.  1  hu.v  lain  moiiouless  as  .1  stcme."     Ai\d  the  soul,  on  its 
part,  may  rtply:   "It  must  he    the   l)i«ly    that    Muned.  tor 
since  I  have  parted  from  it   I  soar  about  in  the  air  free  as  a 
bird."     To   this  Jehuda   ha   Nasi  answered:    "A  kiny  once 
possessed  a  garden  with  splendi<l  Iik'  trees,  and  ap|)ointed  as 
watchmen  in  it  a  bliml  man  and  a  lame  man.     Then  the  lame 
man  spoke  to  the  blind  man.  "I  see  hne  ti«s  up  there;    lake 
me  upon  your  shoulders,  and  I  shall  pick  them,  and  we  tan 
enjoy  them    lo^elher,'     They    did    so,    and  when    the    king 

'  Sec  St;\\e,rrh  a.  i:iriflu--i  <i.  P.iru^mui  a.  ./  J.nl.nth..  i-H  IT. ;  Boccklen  : 
/;  V,r.„i>ulluii.itt  d.  juid.  (hristl.  u.  d.  p.irs.  Euhitol.'gif ;  S.horr;  lie  llaluz, 
VII  A  111 

»S,itib  ()i  a.  I>.   Matt,  XXII.  Ji  f 

•The  |.aral)lc  i-  f.nm.l  in  an  .\|><K!y|.hon  ascribed  to  the  prophet  Kzckii-I, 
sec    Kniphanius   Il.aen-.,  I.XIV.  t-d.    Dindorf.  !l,  M.i  f.  and  ascribed  to  R. 

'    '  .    .  ...  .     .J    ■         •  •  j:_l.._p ...;.l,    4... 

Ishmaei,  Lev.  K.  Iv ,  3,   lii  jdiin.  v'   i.  ^  '"■  "'  k'-'""'  ■■■  ■•  ■••■■^■■•c--'-=   -'■"  '•" 
tonius;  in  Tanh.  Wayilhru,  cd.  Uuber,  |  ij,  it  is  anonymous. 


i'. 


Ouif 


DIMNF   KFrRIBlTlON 


\0\ 


cnterrtl  the*  garden.  Ihr  lin-*  wm-  n>>tw  Hut  whin  (hi  y  wire 
hclil  l<»  .idount  fur  it.  thr  l.imr  tti.ui  vii.l,  'lluw  m»uIi|  I  havr 
taken  them,  nim  i-  I  (.mnot  walk-*'  \n<l  the  Itliiul  ni.tn  <«aiil, 
'Ami  Ii.intiiit  Ml  ■  Ihi-n  thi-  kinK  ha«l  Ihf  l.imc  ni.in  plaird 
U|Mit»  lltr  hutilfli  r->  ni  ihi-  liliinl  mm  atnl  jiii|^;tt|  Ihi  t.i  lioth 
toKrfh"r  In  likr  inannrr  will  (»<»i|  trt-at  the  Inxly  atul  tin* 
siiul.  a>  it  i^  H.iiil:'  'lli-  tallrlh  In  llu  h<avrn-  .  Iiovr  lh.it 
i^,  the  ht-avinly  flenu-nt,  thf  "oul      .iri«l  to  \hv  earth  iKTUalli 

thi    earthly  IxMJy     -anil  planH   tluui  l>i)s'<tlitr  helore  lii^ 
ihronc  of  judgment  '" 

(}  U  (ann<tt  he  denied  that  the  i<lea  that  tin  ^uul  and  hiwly, 
havinK  (ommitted  «<  mI  or  evil  ileed«.  l.ijjetli.r  in  thi'*  lite, 
nhiujld  receive  in  lonimnn  their  reward  or  |)uni■^hment  in  the 
world  to  (lime,  >ati'tu'd  the  Jewi'.h  m  nic  of  jintiic  better 
than  the  (onteplion  develo|MM|  by  Helleni^tii  Jitilai-.n»  (after 
the  IMatonii  and,  in  the  la-<t  resort,  the  l'.;jyi»lian  view)  that  the 
soul  aloni  >hould  partake  of  eternal  hli^s  or  torment  Never- 
thele>is  the  philoMiphic ally  trained  Jewi-^h  thinkers  of  Alexan- 
dria eould  not  hrinn  ihenisdve-.  to  at  lept  a  l)o<li!y  re-urrei  ti  'n, 
:'nd  thi-refore  em|>h>i/ed  so  mm  h  m^re  irotiirI>  the  ^nal 
day  of  judgment  and  the  reward  an<l  punidimetit  o|  the  soul 
in  the  world  to  lome.  Still  we  hnd  mui  h  im on-istem  y  amon« 
various  authors,  sometimes  even  in  the  same  work,  in  the 
conception  of  future  bliss  for  the  jjood  and  torture  for  the 
wicked.  These  varied  at(ordin<i  to  tl  m^re  sensuous  or 
more  spiritual  view  taken  of  the  >ou!  and  the  (cK^tia!  world, 
and  accordini,'  to  the  liti-ral  or  li^urativi-  interpretation  of  the 
Biblical  allusions  to  "fire, "  "worms, '"  an<l  the  liki'  in  the  pun- 
ishment of  evil-doers,  and  of  the  delights  awailinn  the  right- 
eous in  the  future.- 

On  this  {>oint  fn-e  [>la\-  wa-  allows  d  to  the  imau'ination  of  the 
people  and  the  fan'      "f  the  fl  I'^cadi-ts.     Still,  throughout,  the 

'  Ps   I..  4. 

•Isa.  LXVI,  i4,  =ee  V'alkut,   Bouiset.  joS-jii;  J.  E  .  art.  Ejchalology. 


f   1 


i    i 

I 


•!■  I  '4 


II     -t 


!    ■ 


1 


3   i; 


304 


JEWISH   THEOLOC.Y 


solemn  thought  found  its  echo  that  mortal  man  must  g  ve 
account  to  the  inexorable  Judge  of  the  hvmK  and  the  dead  for 
the  life  just  co.npleled,  in  or.ler  to  be  ushere.l.  accord.P.'  .^  u-  ■ 
deserts,  into  the  portals  of  the  celestial  Par.uhse  or  .  1.1'. 
This  led  to  the  view  that  this  whole  mundane  life  is  1  I  !^e  a 
vvavfarers'  inn  for  the  !„e  to  come,  or  the  vestibul  ■  >'  Uh' 
pa^ce  (more  precisely  the  "bannuet-h.-r')  of  the  futur. 

7     A  further  .levelopment   of   the   prnuii)le   of   ju.tict    m 
application  to  future  retribution  led  m.t  merely  .0  such  a  de- 
pLtion  of  the  'urtures  of  hell  an.l  the.lehghts  o    heaven  that 
L  maxim:   -measure  for  measure,"  so  often  devKUed    rom 
in  this  life,  could  Hnd  complete  realization  ^n  »»-  ^^^^  ;  ^^ 
come.     An  intermediate   stage   also   was  dev.sed   for   tho.c 
whose  merit  or  guilt  would  enroll  them  ne.ther  among  the 
righteous  for  eternal  bliss,  nor  among  the  wuked  for  c-t  rnal 
punishuent.     Whde  the  stern  teachers  of  the  sch..ol  of  Sham- 
mai  insisted  that  these  nu-diocrc  ones  must  undc-rgo  a  twelve- 
n.onth  process  of  purif.ction  in  the  t.res  of  Gehenna    the 
milder  school  of  HilUl   maintaine.l   that  the  d.vme  n  c  cy 
would  grant  them  a.lmission  into  Paradise  even  without    he 
fires  of  purgatory,^  either  through  the  ment  o    the  pa  r.arch 
or  owing  to  the  deserts  of  a  son  who  has  been  trained  to  rex .  r- 
ence  for  God.  as  is  imlicated  by  the  legeml  concerning  the 
Kaddish  prayer.^     In  any  case,  the  teaching  of  HiUe  concern- 
ing the  all-suihcing  mercy  of  Cicnl  swept  aside  the  old  hopeless 
conception  that  eternal  suffering  in  hell  awaits  the  average 
man,  which  was  adhered  to  by  the  Christian  church  m  connec- 
don  with  its  dogma  of  the  atoning  blood  of  Chnst.     1  ikew.se 
in  the  dispute  of  schools  as  to  whether  or  not  the  bhss  of  eternal 
life  would  be  accorded  als.,  to  the  righteous  among  the  heathen, 

.-.lhIIT,i.rg.:o;    Rer.  .8  1,.  'AbothIV.21. 

.  Sa.  h.  XIII.  3  ;   R.  H.  .6  b;  see  J.  E.  art.  Purgatory. 

.      eT^tamcnt  of  .\l.raham  XIV;  comp.  Kohlor  in  J.  Q.  R-  \"-  .^^'- 
5     .  ,J  '      1:1.  Zuta  X\  II,  e.l.  Friedman,  p.  23.     See  note,  ka  la  K.  11 
J.  E.,  art      -1  idish,  but  tuiui).  Iv  Ei^iii  ^  i^.  '^jj-iio. 


-JL"    >  4^''^-^      'l^-*.    ^^ 


DIVINE  RF.TRIHUTIOM 


30s 


the  mori-  humane  vii-w  of  Joshua  ben  Hiinauinh  prevailed  over 
the  gloomier  one  of  the  Shanimaite  Klie/er  hen  Hyn  .mos,  and 
therefore  the  iloetrine  hecame  f:;en(Tall\-  a((r|)te(I.  "The 
righteous  of  all  nations  shall  have  a  share  in  the  world  to 

come."  ' 

8.  The  apoealyptie  writers,  who  lar>,'ely  intlueneed  the  Xcw 
Testament,  and  al>o  tiie  naf;f:5adists  refer  with  fond  interest 
to  the  l)an(|uel  of  the  pious  in  the  world  to  come,  where  they 
would  he  served  with  heavenly  maiuia  as  bread,  with  wine 
preserved  fmni  thi-  days  of  tin-  treation,  and  with  the  tle>h 
of  the  Leviathan  or  the  fruit  of  the  Tree  of  Life,-  On  the 
other  hand  they  elaborated  the  tortures  of  the  evildoers  in 
hell  whieh  are  to  afford  a  pleasing' si^dU  to  the  pious  in  heaven, 
just  as  the  torments  of  the  sinners  are  a;!;t,'ravated  by  the  sight 
of  the  righteous  enjoying  all  delights.-'  Hut  at  the  same  lime 
we  meet  with  a  more  retined  and  spiritual  eoneeption  of  future 
reward  and  punishment  among  the  disciples  of  R.  Jehuda  ha 
Nasi,  in  the  BabyK)nian  Rah,  and  the  Palestinian  R.  Johanan 

'  Tos.  Sanh.  XIII,  2;  Sunh.  105  a;  Miilr.  Toll.  I's.  F.\,  iS:  "The  wicked 
shall  rtturn  to  SHcdI,  all  the  nation^  that  f(iri,'(t  Cod,"  K.  Joshua  taking'  tlii-  last 
sense  as  restrictive  .Tnd  R.  lUiezcr  as  a  generalization. 

'  For  the  banquet  of  the  pious  see  Aboth.  Ill,  lO  ;  Shab.  153  a  ;  Pes.  R,  XLI ; 
comi).  Luke  XIII,  jS;  XXII,  30,  and  parallels.  The  idea  rests  on  Isa,  LXV, 
13,  which  is  taken  literally,  and  I's.  XXIII,  5  ;  see  .Midr.  Teh,,  ad  loc.  For  the 
Leviathan  and  Behemoth  see  Job  XL,  1^-30;  H.  H,  74  •>-7.S  « ;  Fnoch  LX, 
7  f,;  IV  Kzra  VI,  53;  Baruch  .\]>oc.  XXIX,  4;  Targ.  I's.  Vl\  .  .-O ;  Lev.  !' 
XIII, 3,  F.>rthet,'iiint  bird  Zizsee  I's,  I.,  10  41  ;  Tart;,  and  Midr.  Teh,  ad  1 
Tanh.  Beshallah.  ed.  Buber,  24;  Jellinek,  B.  H.  III.  7".  ^o.  For  the  heavei,. 
manna  I's,  LXXVIIl,  24;  Joma7.>b;  II.ik.  12b;  Tanh.  Besh  ,llah,  ed,  Buber, 
21;  Sibyll,  Pra-mium  87;  H,  3'«;  HI,  74<' ;  IV  Fzra  IX,  10,  For  the  wine 
see  Fx.  R.  XXV,  10;  Ber.  34  b;  Sanh.  (jo  a;  Matt.  XXVI,  2() ;  comp.  also 
Num.  R.  XIII,  3  for  other  fruits  of  P.iradise.  For  the  Persian  origin  of  these 
ideas  see  Hniidiiki^li.XW,  13  ;  XXX,  2.^.  The  Behemoth  corresponi's  with  the 
|)rimeval  ox  Iladhayos,  whose  lle-li  |)ro(luces  the  sap  of  immortality;  the  giant 
fish  and  bird  with  BiDidahisli.XXUh  s-S ;  XIX,  U>-iq;  the  wine  corresponds 
with  the  I'arsee  Horn  :  Biindahisli,  XXX,  25.  ^ee  Winuishman  :  Zoroastr.  Stud., 
92  f.,  252  f.,  and  Boeklen,  I.  c,  p.  d.S. 

'Shab.  153a,  with ref.  to  Isa.  LXV,  13-14;  LXVI,  24;  IV  i:zra  VII,  83,  93. 


f 

! 

\ 

I 

i'    (I 
! 


3o6 


JEWISH  THEOLOGV 


?■^ 


I. 


and  his  pupil  Simeon  ben  Lakish.     "In  the  -^ure  world '« 
sivs  Rab.  "there  are  no  sensual  enjoyments  nor  pasMons  but 
t'be"  righteous  sit  at  th    table  of  God  vith  --f  ^  'I'l^"  ^';'-^^ 
heads  (like  the  Greek  sages  at  a  symposium  I),  f-^l'"g  ^^^e 
,,aiance  of  the  divine  majesty,  as  did  the  chosen  ones  of    srae 
on  the   heights  of    Sinai."  '     R-   Johanan  teaches.      AH  the 
promises  held  forth  in  Scripture  in  defmite  form  as  reward  for 
the  future,  refer  to  the  Messianic  era.  whereas  in  regard  to  the 
bliss  awaiting  the  pious  in  the  world  to  come,  the  words  of 
Isaiah  hold  goo.l :  '  No  eye  hath  seen  .t.  O  God.  beside  Thee 
Simeon  ben  Lakish  even  went  so  far  as  to  say,      There  is 
neither  hell  nor  paradise.     Instead.  God  sends  out^  the  sun 
in  its  full  strength  from  its  encasement   and  the  wicked  are 
consumed  by  its  heat,  while  the  piou.  find  delight  and  healing 

in  its  beams." "  ,  ,    ■  ^„, 

However    the  popular  imagination  demanded  more  per- 
ceptible pictures  of  heaven  and  hell,  if  fear  of  punishment  was 
to  deter  men  from  sin,  and  hope  of  reward  to  lead  them  to 
virtue      The  description  of  the  modes  of  reward  and  punish- 
ment for  the  future  in  the  Koran  is  the  outcome  of  mingled 
Persian  and  Jewish  popular  conceptions,  and  its  crass  sensuous- 
ness  exerted  in  turn  a  decisive  influence  upon  the  entire  Gaonic 
period.'-  leaving  its  mark  upon  even  so  clear  a  thinker  as  Saadia. 
Not  onlv  does  he  admit  into  his  philosophic  work  all  the 
crude  and  conilicting  descriptions  of  the  future  world,  but  he 
also  argues  for  the  eternity  of  the  punishments  of  hell  and  of  the 
delights  of  heaven  as  logical  necessities,  because  only  such 
could  sufficiently  deter  or  allure  mankind,  and  a  righteous 
God  must  certainly  cairy  out  His  threats  and  promises. 

,  j5pr   ,^  a.  'Bcr.  34  b;   with  ref.  to  Isa.,  LXIV,  3- 

5  \b.  Zar.  3f)  with  rcf.  to  Mai.  Ill,  t)-22. 

«See  Jellinek,  B.  H.  I,  H  and  III,  the  Treatise  on  Gelunnom  and  Can 

^"^'"'Emunoth  VII,  IX,  and  comp.  J.  Guttman;  Religions phil.  des  Saadia,  208 
f.,  249  f- 


DIVINE   RETRIBUTION 


307 


9.    The  entire  Jewish  philosophy  or  theolo>iy  of  the  Middle 
Ages  remained  under  the  intliience  of  the  traditional  l)e):'.f  in 
resurrection.     Kven  Maimonide     wlio.e  purely  spiritual  con- 
ception of  the  soul  and  (  f  salv.  lion  i>  utterly  irreconcilable 
with  the  belief  in  bodily  re>urreclion.  and  who  accordingl) 
dwells  instead,  in  both  his  Moreh  and  his  Code,  on  the  future 
world  of  spirits,  with  explicit  empha>is  on  llu  ir  incorporeality. 
did  not  have  the  courage  to  break  altogether  with  the  tradi- 
tional bel'ef  in  resurrection.     In  his  apologetic  treatise  on  res- 
urrecuon  he  even  attempts  to  present  it  as  a  miraculous  act 
of  God  beyond  the  grasp  of  the  intellect.     He  omits,  however, 
to  spec  ify  what  purpose  this  miracle  may  serve,  since  in  the 
Maimonidean  system  reward  and  punishment  would  be  ad- 
ministered in  the  world  of  spirits  in  a  much  purer  and  more 
satisfactory  manner.'     The  same  standpoint  is  taken  also  by 
Jehuda  ha  Levi  as  well   as  by  Crescas  and  Albo.-     If  then 
resurrection  be  a  miracle,  it  falls  outside  the  scope  of  philo- 
sophic speculation  and  becomes  a  matter  of  faith;  accordingly 
the  mystics  fr-^m  Nahmanides  down  to  Manasseh  ben  Israel 
associated   ..i-i  it  tiie  grossest  conceptions.'' 

10.  Th-  actual  view  of  Maimonides  concerning  future 
retribution  is  expressed  clearly  anrl  unaml)iguously  in^  both 
his  early  product,  the  commentary  on  the  Mishna.  and  in  the 
ripest  fruit  of  his  life  work,  the  Mishneh  Torah,  where  he  says 
"Not  immortality,  but  the  power  to  win  eternal  life  through 
the  knowledge  and  the  love  of  God  is  implanted  in  the  human 
soul.  If  it  has  the  ability  to  free  itself  from  the  bondage  of 
the  senses  and  by  means  of  the  knowledge  of  God  to  lift  itself 
to  the  highest  morality  and  the  purest  thinking,  then  it  has 
attained  divine  bliss,  true  immortality,  and  it  enters  the  realm 


<  il 


'  See  Joel,  Religiomphil.  d.  Mosc  b.  Mahnon.,  p.  40- 

^Cuzari,  I,  15;    V,  14;   Or  Adonai  III,  4.  -'•     See  Joel:  Crescas,  p.  74  t. ; 

.ilbo:   /War/w,  IV,  29-41-  .     ,..,         n, 

»  Nahmanide?,  I.  c,  last  chapter ;  Manassc  b.  Israel  in  A  ishmat  Chayim. 


V.?- 


3o8 


JFAVISH  THEOLOGY 


of  the  eternal  Spirit  together  with  the  angds.     If  it  sinks  into 
the  sensuousncss  of  earthly  existence,  then  it  is  cut  oil  from 
eternal  life;   il  suffers  annihilalion  like  the  beast.     In  reality 
this  life  eternal  is  not  the  future,  but  is  already  potentially 
present  and  invariably  at  hand  in  the  spirit  of  man  himself, 
with  its  ct)nslant   striving  toward   the  highest.     When   the 
rabbis  speak  of  paradise  and  hell,  describing  vividly  the  de- 
lights (.f  the  one  and  the  torments  of  the  other,  these  are  only 
metaphors  for  the  agony  of  sin  and  the  happiness  of  virtue. 
True  piety  serves  Ciod  neither  from  fear  of  punishment  nor 
from  desire   for   reward,  as  servants  obey  their  master,  but 
from  pure  love  of  Clod  and  truth.     Thus  the  saying  of  Ben 
Azai  is  verified,  'The  reward  of  a  good  deed  is  the  good  deed 
itself.' '     Only  children  need  bribes  and  threats  to  be  trained 
to  morality.     Thus  religion  trains  mankind.     The  people  who 
cannot  penetrate  into  the  kernel  need  the  shell,  the  external 
means  of  threats  and  promises."  ■    These  splendid  words  of 
the  great  thinker  reciuire  sui)plementing  or  modification  in 
only  one  direction,  and  that  has  been  afTorded  by  the  keenest 
critic    among    Jewish    philosophers,    Hasdai    Crescas.      Too 
deeply   enmeshed   in    the   Aristotelian   system,    Maimonides 
found  the  hai)piness  and  immortality  of  man  solely  in  the  ac- 
quired intellectual  power  which  becomes  part  of  the  divine 
intellect,  and  the  mere  knowledge  of  God  is  to  him  tanta- 
mount to  the  blissful  enjoyment  of  the  pious  in  the  radiance  of 
God's   majesty.     Conseciuently   those   who   strive   and   soar 
heavenward  through  their  moral  conduct  and  noble  aspirations, 
without  at  the  same  time  being  thinkers,  receive  no  reward. 
Against  this  Aristotelian  one-sidedness  Crescas  emphasizes 
God's  love  and  goodness  for  which  the  righteous  yearn,  and  in 
whose  pursuit  man  finds  perfection  and  happiness.     Not  for 
the  sake  of  attaining  bliss  shall  we  love  God  and  practice 
virtue  and  truth,  but  to  lov    God  and  practice  virtue  is  itself 
I  Aboth.  IV,  2.  '  Com.  to  Sanh.  XI  and  //.  Tcskttbah,  Vlll. 


DIVINK   RI.TRIIU  TinN 


JO*) 


true  bliss.  This  is  tlu-  ncarni-ss  of  God  rcfirml  to  by  the 
Psahiiisl  and  dci hired  to  be  man's  highrsl  nood.'  There  is 
no  need  »)f  any  other  reward  than  lliis,  and  there  i^  no  greater 
punishment  than  to  be  deprived  of  this  boon  forever. ' 

II.    In  the  faie  of  these  two  great  thinkers,  to  whom  Spinoza 
wes  the  fundamental  ideas  of  his  ethics,'  the  (juestion  con- 
sidered by  Albo,  whether  the  eternal  duration  of  the  tori. ....of 
hell  is  recon(  liable  with  the  divine  merey/  a  ([uestion  .vhi*  li  still 
plays  an  imiH)rtant  role  in  (■hri>tian  theology,  and  whii  h  was 
probably  suggested  to  Albo  through  his  disputations  with  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Church,  —  is  for  us  supertluous  and  super- 
seded.    Our  modern  conceptions  of   time  and   space  admit 
neither  a  place  or  a  world-iK-riod  for  the  reward  and  punish- 
ment of  souls,  nor  the  intolerable  conception  of  eternal  joy 
without  useful  action  and  eternal  agony  without  any  moral 
purpose.     Modern    man  knows    that  he  bears    heaven    and 
hell  within  his  own  bosom.     Indeed,  so  much  more  dirficult  is 
the  life  of  duty  which  knows  of  no  other  reward  than  happi- 
ness through  harmony  with  Ood,  the  Father  of  the  immortal 
soul,  and  of  no  other  punishment  than  the  soul's  distress  at  its 
inner  discord  with  the  primal  Source  and  the  divine  Ideal  of  all 
morality.     All  the  more  powerfully  is  modern  man  ccmtrolled 
by  the  thought  that  the  universe  permits  no  stagnation,  no 
barren  enjoyment  or  barren  suffering,  but  that  every  death 
marks  the  transition  to  a  higher  goal  for  greater  accomplish- 
ment.    This  yearning  of  the  soul  finds  expression  in  the  Tal- 
mudic  maxim,  "The  righteous  find  rest  neither  in  this  world, 
nor  in  the  world  to  come,  as  it  is  said,  'They  go  from  strength 
to  strength,  until  they  appear  before  Clod  on  Zion 

1  Ps.  LXXIII,  2%. 

=  Or  Adonah  11,  SS ;  VT,  i ;  cnmp.  Jo.l,  1.  c,  5'>-62 ;  comp.  Bahya  :  Iloboth, 
Ilalrhaholfi.  Sliaar  Bitalton. 

'  See  Joel  :  /.  Gen.  d.  Lchrr  Spim~M,  p.  64.  *  Ikhirim,  IN',  35-38- 

»  Ber.  64  a,  with  rcf.  to  Vs.  LXXXIV,  8;  sec  also  Midr.  Teh.  ad  loc. 


'    II 


.,..  .f\  ', 


2^^Bl|-'h 


CHAPTKR   XLVI 
Thk  Individuai,  and  thk  Race 

I     In  every  system  of  heluf  the  .)l)je( t  of  divine  rare  and 
guidance  is  the  individual.     His  soul  and  his  consc.en.  e  raise 
him  up,  especially  according  to  the  Jewish  doctrine,   to  the 
divine   image,    to    Godchildship.      His    freedom    and    moral 
responsibility  are  the  patent  of  nobility  for  his  divme  nature ; 
his  ego,  controlling  external  forces  and  carrying  out  its  own 
designs,  vouches  for  his  imm..rtality.     Nevertheless  the  spirit 
of  the  Biblical  language  indicates  rightly  that  the  individual 
is  only  a  son  of  man,    -  ben  adam,  -  that  is,  a  segment  or 
member  of  the  human  race,  but  not  the  perfect  typical  ex- 
emplification  of   the   whole   of   mankind.     From   the   social 
organism  he  receives  what  he  is.  what  he  has.  and  what  he 
ought  to  do,  both  his  nature  and  his  destiny;    and  only  in 
association  with  the  community  and  umler  the  guidance  of 
the  highest  ideal  of  humanity  can  he  attain  true  perfection. 
Only  mankiml  as  a  whole,  in  its  cooperation,  as  it  extends  oyer 
the  vast  expanse  of  the  earth,  and  in  its  succession  which 
reaches  through  the  centuries  of  the  world's  history,  can  bring 
to  full  development  the  divine  image  in  man,  his  moral  and 
reli-ious  nature  with  all  its  varied  potentialities.     It  is  man 
collectively  who  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  receives  the 
con.mand  to  subject  the  earth  with  all  its  creatures  to  his 
cultural  purposes.^     In  whatever  stage  of  culture  we  meet 

i  See  T  H  ,  art.  Adam,  and  Jcllinek  :  nezelan  FJohim,  Sermon  IV.  The  term 
human,,,  arose  among  the  S,  ,ics.  See  Reizenstein  :  »'«^«  "' ,  /  rXf " 
Humanitm;  comp.  Schmidt,  Ethik  d.  Gricchen,  II,  324,  477;  and  Zeller,  Cr,«A. 
Ph-1^    ITT,  I.  28:.  ?oo.     For  the  rabbinical  B.rioth  for  humanity  see  B.  Sira, 

XVI,  16. 

310 


;<  • 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  AND    THE   RAl  K 


3«' 


man,  his  nuxlosof  thought  and  >|)t'tHh,  histu^tdms  and  moral 
views,  even  his  spiritual  t;u  ultio  are  the  result  of  a  lon^  his- 
toric process  of  development,  the  product  of   an  extremely 
tomplitated  past,  as  well  as  the  l)a^i^  of  a  future  which  ex- 
pands in  all  dip'ctions.     The  ancients  expre>,e(l  thi^  in  their 
suggestive  way,  remarking  in  connection  with  the  ver>e  of  the 
Psalm,  "Thine  eyes  did  see  mine  unformed  suh^taiue,  and  in 
Thy  book  they  were  all  written,"  '  that  at  the  irc-ation  of  the 
first  man  (lod  recorded  thesucc  es^ion  of  races  with  Jieir  sages, 
seers  and  leaders  until   the  end  of   time.-'     And    when    the 
Haggadists  say  that  in  creating  man  God  took  dust  from  every 
part  of  the  world,  so  that  he  would  he  everywhere  al  home,' 
again  they  were  thinking  of  mankind.     Similarly  in  the  pas^age 
from  the  Psalms,  "Thou  hast   hemmed  me  in    behind   and 
before,"  they  explain  that  God  made  the  tirst  man  with  two 
faces,  one  looking  forward  and  the  other  backward,  that  is, 
with  a  Janus  head ;  and  thus  they  regard  man  in  his  relation 
to  the  past  and  the  future,  in  his  historic  continuity.'     As  both 
physically  and  spiritually  he  i>  the  heir  of  innumerable  an- 
cestors who  have  transmitted   to  him   with   their  blood  all 
their  idiosyncrasies  and  capacities  in  a  peculiar  combination, 
so  will  he  transmit  both  consciously  and  unconsciously  the 
inherited  possessions  of  mankind  to  future  generations  for 
continued  growth  or  for  degeneration.     He  forms  but  a  link 
in  the  great  chain  of  history,  whose  goal  is  the  perfected  ideal 
of  humanity,  the  completed  idea  of  man.     This  was  the  under- 
lying thought  of  Ben  Azzai  in  his  dispute  wih  R.  Akiba,  who 
held  that  the  principal  maxim  of  Jewish  teaching  is  "Thou 
shall  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."     In  opposition  to  this 
Ben  Azzai  presented  as  the  most  important  lesi:on  of  the  Bible 

» Ps.  CXXXIX,  i6. 

«  Midr.  Teh.,  ad  U... ;  Pesik.  R.  XXIII ;  Gen.  R.  XXIV,  2 ;  Sanh.  38  b  after 
Sfder  Olam  at  the  close. 
>Gen.  R.  VIII,  i. 
« Eodeui ,  Midi.  Teh.  to  Ps.  CXXXIX,  5 ;  Bcf .  61  a. 


V  ! 


IKlfe^ 


I:  ' 


'I 


in 


i  HI' 


V.\ 


f. 
t 

'<  i 
t 

i 


flit 


JEWISH   THIOI.IK.Y 

the  VLTsf  which  says,  "Thi-.  is  ihi-  Ix.ok  of  the  ni-m-rations  <»f 
man;  in  the  (la\  that  (in'  i n-atrd  nian,  ii>  the  likiiu-s>  of 
God  made  Hi-  him."  '  ThfHodiikciu>s  ol'  man  develops  more 
and  more  throUKli  thi-  evolution  of  the  human  race.  This  is 
the  basic  force  for  all  human  lo\e  and  all  human  worth. 

2.    This  social  hond  existing  between  the  individual  and  the 
rate  imiioses  u[)on  him  in  acconlance  with   his  ociupation 
certain  <luties  in  the  -.ame  de^^ree  as  it  confers  benefits.     Hen 
Zoma,  a  colleague  of  Hen  A/./ai.  e.xpressed   this  as  folKms : 
When  he  saw  great  t  rowds  of  people  together,  he  exclaimed, 
"I'raise«l  be  Tliou  who  ha'^t  created  all  these  to  serve  me." 
In  explanation  of  this  lilessing  he  said,  "How  hard  thet'irst 
man  in  his  loneliness  must  have  toiled,  until  he  could  eat  a 
morsel  of  bread  or  wear  a  garment,  but  I  fmd  everything  pre- 
pared.    Tile  various  workmen,  from  the  farmer  to  the  miller 
and  the  baker,  from  the  weaver  to  the  tailor,  all  labor  for  me. 
Can  1  then  be  ungrateful  and  be  oblivious  of  my  duty?"'* 
In  the  same  sense  he  interprets  the  last  verse  in  Koheleth, 
"This  is  the  end  of  the  matter;   fear  God  and  keep  His  com- 
mandments, for  this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man."    That  is  to  say, 
all  mankind  toils  for  him  who  does  so.     Thus  does  human  life 
rest  upon  a  reciprocal  relation,  upon  mutual  duty.' 

3.  Man  is  a  social  being  who  must  strike  root  in  many 
spheres  of  life  in  order  that  the  variegated  blos-oms  and  fruits 
of  his  spiritual  and  emotional  nature  may  sprout  forth.  The 
more  richly  the  communal  life  is  specialized  into  professions 
and  occupations,  the  more  does  the  province  of  the  individual 
e.xpand,  and  the  more  difTicult  it  is  for  him  to  attain  perfection 
on  all  sides.  According  to  his  faculties  and  predisposition 
he  must  always  develop  one  or  the  other  side  of  human  en- 
deavor and  jmrsue  now  the  beautiful,  now  the  good,  now  the 
true  and  now  the  useful,  if  as  the  image  of  Gofl  be  is  to  emulate 

>  Gen.  R.  XXIV.  8.  'Tot;   Rer  VII.  2  :   Rpr   c8  a. 

•  Ber.  6  b;  Shab.  30  b;  see  Rashi  (against  Bacher :  Ag.  Tann.,  I,  432). 


w. 


Jm:»i 


'V:  ''-^^^ 


Tin.   INDIMDIAI.  AM)   TMi:   RACK 


3«.i 


ihe  Ideal  of  all  rxi^tcmi-,  thi-  Patti-rn  of  all  treat  ion,     Con- 

scciucntly  he  may  refletl  sotne  ra<liaiue  of  the  divine  jjlory  in 

his  lii.'.rarter  and  ai  hievemenU.  wlnlher  a-,  moral  hero,  as 

sa^e  and  thinker,  as  stati^nan  and  lultler  lor  Ire.dom.  a-, 

artist,  or  a>  the  diMoverer  of  new  fori  e-  and  new  world>  .   ami 

yi-l  the  full  -plendor  of  (;od>  ),;re.itne>^  i^  mirrored  only  by 

mankind  as  a  whole  through  its  ieaMle>s  eommon  a.  lion  and 

interaetion.     Therefore  Judaism  deprei  ates  every  attempt  to 

present  a  >inule  individual,  be  he  ever  >o  noble  or  wi>e,  a>  the 

ideal  of  all  human  perfet  tion,  as  a  perfec  t  man,  fne  fr..ni  fault 

or  blemish.     "  There  i:.  none  holy  as  the  l.ord,  for  thert-  h  none 

beside  Thee,"  >ay>  Scrii)lure.'     Instead  of  extolling  any  single 

mortal  as  the  type  or  ideal  of  perfeetion.  our  >aj?.-  rather  s.iy 

with  referenec  to  the  lofty  iharader^  of  the  Bible:  "There  is 

no  generation  \vhi(  h  eannol  >how  a  man  with  the  lov»-  for 

righteousness  of  an  Abraham,  or  the  nobility  of  spirit  i>f  a 

Moses,  or  the  love  for  truth  of  a  Samuel."  '     That  i>  to  >ay. 

every  age  creates  its  own  heioes,  who  retleit  the  maje>ty  of 

God  in  their  own  way. 

4.  As  man  is  the  keystone  of  all  creation,  so  he  is  called  upon 
to  take  his  full  share  in  the  progress  of  the  race.  '  lie  who 
formed  the  earth  created  it  not  a  waste;  He  formed  it  to  be 
inhabited,"  says  the  prophet.^  True  humanity  has  its  seat, 
ni)t  in  the  life  of  the  reclu^e,  but  in  the  family  circle,  amid 
mutual  love  and  loyalty  between  husband  and  wife,  between 
parents  and  children.  The  sages,  with  their  keen  insight  into 
the  spirit  of  the  Scripture,  point  to  the  fact  that  it  is  man  and 
wife  together  who  first  receive  the  name  of  "man,"  because 
only  the  mutual  helpfulness  and  ititluenie,  the  care  and  toil 
for  one  another  draw  forth  the  treasures  of  the  soul,  and  create 
relations  which  warrant  permanency  and  give  promise  of  a 
future.^ 


'  I  Sam.  II,  2. 

»l5a.  LXV,  i'i,  sec  Veb  'ija. 


«Gen.  R.  LVI,  q. 
'G'-n    R   XML  2. 


A^\^£t:^'T- 


ni't 


1^1 


K 


3  -* 


3,4  JFAVIsn  THKOLm.Y 

5.  Still  the  family  cirdo  itst-lf  is  «mly  a  ^eRmcnt  «>(  the 
nation,  whidi  (routes  siH-c^h  and  cust.mi,  and  assinns  to  each 
ptTson  his  share  in  the  lommon  ai  tivity  of  the  varioun  classes 
of  men.     <  )nly  within  the  soi  iai  bond  of  thi-  nation  or  trihc  i-i 
the  interdeiH-n.lenie  of  all  l>r..UKht  h.)me  t..  the  cons,  iousness 
of  the  individual,  tonether  with  all  the  c    mon  moral  ohliKa- 
tions  ami  reli«i..us  yearninKs      ThtoURh  the  few  elect  ones  of 
the  nation  or  trihe.  (lixl's  voice  is  heard  as  to  what  is  riKht 
in  both  ( u-.tom  and  law,  and  thr.mph  them  the  individual  is 
roused  to  a  sense  of  .luty.     It  is  s.n  iety  which  enables  the 
human  mind  to  triumph  .)ver  physiial  necessity  by  ever  new 
discoveries  of  t,)«.ls  and  means  of  life,  thus  to  attain  freed.)m 
ami  prosperity,  and,  throi'^h  meditati..n  e.ver  the  continually 
cxpanrlins  realm  of  c;o<rs  world,  to  build  up  the  various  sys- 
tems of  science  and  of  art. 

6.  But  the  single  nation  also  is  too  dependent  upon  the 
conditions  of  its  historic  past,  of  its  land  and  its  racial  charac- 
teristics, to  brinK  the  divine  ima^e  to  its  full  development  in  a 
perfect  man.     Humanity  as  a  whole  comes  to  its  own.  to  true 
self-consciousness,   only    through    the   reciprtual   ct.ntact  of 
race  with  race,  through  the  co.iperation  of  the  various  circles 
and  classes  of  life  which  extend  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of 
nationality  and  have  in  view  common  interests  and  aims, 
whether  in  the  pursuit  of  truth,  in  the  achievement  of  good, 
or  in  the  creation  of  the  useful   and   the  beautiful.     Only 
when  the  various  nations  and  groups  of  men  learn  to  regard 
themselves  as  members  of  one  great  family,  will  the  life  of  the 
individual  find  its  true  value  in  relation  to  the  idea  and  the 
ideal  of  humanity.    Then  only  will  the  unity  and  harmony 
of  the  entire  cosmic  life  find  its  reflection  in  the  blending  of  the 
factors  and  forces  of  human  society. 

7.  Judaism  has  evolved  the  idea  of  the  unity  of  mankind 
as  a  corollary  of  its  ethical  monotheism.  Therefore  the  Bible 
begins  the  history  of  the  world  with  the  creation  of  Adam  and 


nCK   INDIMDIM.   AM)  TMK  RACE 


3«5 


Eve.  the  one  human  pair     The  covenant  whu  h  G<hI  concluded 
after  the  IIihkI  with  Noah,  the  father  ui  the  new  mankind, 
has  ii^  ct)rrts|Kin(linK  K«»al  at  the  ind  ul  time  in  ih».  tlivine 
covtnunt  which  i^  t<»  in»lu«le  all  tribes  of  men  in  onr  threat 
brotherhtMui;   and  m)  aUo  thr  di>per>ion  <>f  man  through  the 
confuriion  of  tongues  at  the  huildinn  »»f  thi  Tower  of  Halnl  has 
its  countirpart  in  the  rallying  t>f  all  natioii>  at  the  end  of  time 
for  the  wor^iip  of  the  One  an.l  Only  (i.xl  in  a  purr  tongue 
and  a  united  spirit  on  Zion's  heights  '  Whatever  the  livili/a- 
tions  of  CJreere  and  Rome  and  the  Stoic  philosophy  have 
achieved  for  the  idea  of  humanity,  Judaism  has  otTend  in  its 
prophetic  hope  for  a  Mt•«^^iani(  future  the  Kuidinj;  idra  for  the 
progress  of  man  in  history,  thus  giving  him  tin-  impul-e  to 
ceaseless  efT«)rts  toward  the  highest  of  all  aims  for  the  realiza- 
tion of  which  all  nations  and  classes,  all  systems  «)f  faith  and 
thought,  must  labor  together  for  millenniums  to  come. 

'  For  the  term  A^udilih.ihtlh  in  the  New  Year  .in«l  Atonempnf  Day  rr.iver, 
Singer'*  I'raycrbovk,  p.  iH),  comp.  Gen.  R.  I.XXXVIII,  '>,  an.t  XXXIX,  j. 


I!.  I 


f! 


•  i 


4\'* 


V 


m 


m 


?> 


ciiaphh  xiaii 

Till    M-iKM.  Kit  MINI-'  "K  (ivn.i/ATinv 

1.  RnaMsr  Ju<lai-m  st*"*  fli«'  atlaitun.nl  of  hutnati  pt-rfn - 
tion  oiilv  wh.n  tlu-  .liviiir  in  man  has  rcaihnl  (..nij.Uti'  <lt- 
vilupnuMit  through  llu-  unin.|u'.U-.l  a»  livily  nf  all  his  spiritual, 
mural,  aiul  v«ial  for...,  it  in.i^t-.  up-.n  th.'  full  ro  oK'tiilion  of 
all  l.ramlu.  of  human  Muirty  a.  in^trunimt^  of  nun's  drva- 
lion.  tithir  individually  ..r  roll.,  liv.  ly.  It  drfm-.  al.-s  the 
id»a  that  any  font-  or  faculty  of  human  lifi-  l)f  riKHr.li<l  as 
unholv  and  th.ri-for.-  hv  suppr.HM-.l.  It  thus  rrj.-i  ts  on  prin- 
(ipli-  monasti.  rmum  iation  and  isolation,  puintinw  to  the 
Scriptural  v.tm',  •  11-  who  form.d  llu-  tarth  *  rcutcd  it  n..t 
ii  waste;    H<'  formid  it  to  \n-  iidiahited.' " 

2.  Anor.lin^dy     Judaism     rr;;ard.     the    estahlishm.-nt    of 
family  life   through   marriage  a.  a  .luty  ohli-atory  on   man- 
kind, and  MIS  in  tlu-  rntrani  .■  inl-.  tlu-  marital  rrlali..n  an  art 
•)f   liu's  siiprinH'c.nMi  ration.     In  contract    to   the  ci-liha.y 
san.tioncd  by  the  Cl.ur.h  an.l  appn.ve.l  by  the  rabbis  .mly 
under   eertain    .ondition^.    and    e\(  .■i)lionally    for    their   holy 
exeni>es  bv  the  I^m  ne.,  tl,r   P annaite  R    Kli./.er  pronounees 
the  man  who  lhr..u-h  ba.  lulorhood  shirks  the  duty  of  rearing 
children    to   be   -uilty   of    mun|.  r  a-.-ain^t    th-    human    race. 
Another  (alh  him  a  de>i)oil.  r  ol   ine  <livine  ima^e.     Another 
rabbi   s.ivs  that   ..u.  h  a  one  r.nounees  his  privile-e  of   true 
hum  uuty,  in  .^o  far  as  ,.idy  in  the  married  slat.'  .an  hapi)iness. 
ble-iuK.  and  i)eaee  be  atfaiiu.l.-     It   is  >i;;niti' ant   as  to  the 
spirit  of  Judaism  that,  whih-  other  reli.uions  re^jar.l  the  celi- 
bacy of  the  j)neM-  an-l  >aint-  as  sij^ns  of  highest  sanctity,  the 


iiu.  Xi.V,  la. 


u6 


rill     MOKM.   Kl,KMKM>  OK   ilMI.I/MlON         U7 


Jfwi4)  I.uv  .vpriH^ly  .urnm.m-l'*  I  hit  »l><-  hiuh  prif-^l  ■'hall  not 
Ik-  uIIowkI  Id  (iliMTvr  tin-  -v.iti mil  rit<  -  nf  llu-   l>i\    ol   Ai.iru- 
nu-nt  U  iiiim.irrit.l  '     I-<>vr  *.ir  tlii'  wit.  ,  tin-  ki«  jm  r  aij.l  ^ii.ir 
ili.in  of  ihf  h(tmr,  mii'it  aMiitu'  lii-  U  .irt   Jo  titwit  riK^-»  aii<l 
sympuliy,  if  In-  i^  to  pli  a<l  for  liir  iHopii-  h.  I..r.'  the  II  /!>  (io<l 
llf  «  an  fitakr  iiil»rt « -.^ion  fur  thf  hoii'*rlin',il  ul   l-r  ,(  I  oiil>   if 
lu-  hiiiiMlf   ha^  fouii'li'.l  a  faiiiiU    m  whi.  h  an  pta.  li. .  .1  laith- 
fuliu>^  ami  nio.!i--I>    |..vi-  at). I  t.  ^jar.l  for  tin   li|.   i  cmpaiiiwn. 
all  tlir  i|onu->ti«    virfur^  iiiluriid  from  tin-  pa-^l 

\     AiiotluT  moral  fac  t.ir  for  human  <lr\tlopnuiti  i-  iixhi-- 
try,  \vhi(  h  M-turrs  tu  thr  imliviihial  hi-  iiidrpciuli  luc  atui  hin 
ilinnity   wlu-n   he  cti^Mucs  in  inaliM-   labor  aftir   thf  .lisint- 
paltiTU,  ami  whidi  nward-  him  with  <..niiort  and  thr  joy  ol 
life.     'rhi>«  also  is  so  hi>.;hly  valiifl  hy  JiidaiMU  that  indu^tri.d 
lutivity.  whiih  unlo.  ks  from  thr  farlh  .mt  iuw  trra^in-  t.. 
cnriih  hum  in  liff,  i-  mjoiiud  upon  all.  rvt-n  tho^'  pur-uint; 
more  spiritual  voiations.     "Sost  thou  a  mm  dili-i  nt  in  hi-. 
business?     Ho    shall    stand    lu-forc    kinds'-     'Wlun    thou 
catfst  the  lalm?  of  thy  hands,  happy  ar'  thou  and  it  shall  lu- 
Wfli  with  thtr."  '     In  lommcntiim  on  this  I.'-,t  mtm'.  the  -a^is 
say:   "This  means  that  thou  wilt  Ik-  douhly  I)1i>mmI  .    happy 
art  thou  in  this  world,  and  it  shall  Ik-  well  with  tin.-  in  the 
worl<l    to   lomt'."^     Anain    thcv    say.    "  N'o    labor,    however 
humble,  is  di^mnorinu,"  '  also:    "Idleness,  even  amid  «reat 
wealth,  leads  to  the  wa-<tinu of  the  iiUrliei  t.""     Moreover  it  is 
said,  "Whoever  ne)^leets  to  train  hi-  son  to  a  trade,  rears  him 
to  become  .i   robber."^     True,   there   were  some  amun.u   the 
[lious  who  themselves  abstaiiuil  from  partiup.ili'H  in  indus- 
tr>',  and  therefore  proclaimed,  in  the  - mir  lenor  as  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  "  Fiehold  the  beasts  of  tin  lield  and  the  birds  of 
heaven,  they  sow  not  and  reap  not,  and  their  heavenly  Father 

'  Yoma  I,  I.  »  Prov.  XXII,  -•<)  '  I'         vX^  HI,  .'. 

«  Bor.  H  a.  »  N'fil   4(j  !i.  •  K.  lii   V,  5,  59  b. 


318 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


cares  for  them."'  But  these  formed  an  exception,  while  the 
majority  of  Jewish  teachers  extolled  the  real  blessing  of  labor 
and  its  efhcacy  in  ennobling  heart  and  spirit.^ 

4.  Neither  does  Judaism  begrufige  man  the  joy  of  life 
which  is  the  fruit  of  industry,  nor  rob  it  of  its  moral  value. 
On  the  contrary,  that  ascetic  spirit  which  encourages  self- 
mortification  and  rigid  renunciation  of  all  pleasure  is  declared 
sinful.'  Inaicad,  we  are  told  that  in  the  world  to  come  man 
shall  have  to  give  account  for  every  enjoyment  offered  him  in 
this  life,  whether  he  used  it  gratefully  or  rejected  it  i:i  ingrati- 
tude." Abstinence  is  declared  to  be  praiseworthy  only  in 
curbing  wild  desires  and  passions.  For  the  rest,  true  piety  lies 
in  the  consecration  of  ever>'  gift  of  God,  ever>'  pleasure  of  life 
which  He  has  offered,  and  using  it  in  His  service,  so  that  the 
seal  of  holiness  shall  be  imprinted  even  upon  the  satisfaction 
of  the  most  sensuous  desires. 

5.  Judaism,  then,  lays  special  emphasis  upon  sociability  as 
advancing  all  that  is  good  and  noble  in  man.  The  life  of  the 
recluse,  according  to  its  teaching,  is  of  little  use  to  the  world 
at  large  and  hence  of  no  moral  value.  Only  in  association 
with  one's  fellow-men  does  life  find  incentive  and  opportunity 
for  woithy  work.  "Either  a  Hfe  among  friends  or  death" 
is  a  Tahnudic  proverb.*  Unselfish  friendship  like  that  of 
David  and  Jonathan  is  lauded  and  pointed  out  for  imitation.^ 
Through  it  man  learns  to  step  beyond  the  narrow  boundaries 
of  his  ego,  and  in  caring  for  others  he  will  purify  and  exalt  his 
own  soul,  until  at  last  its  love  will  include  all  mankind. 

6.  "Iron  sharpeneth  iron;  so  a  man  sharpeneth  the  coun- 
tenance of  his  friend,"  says  the  book  of  Proverbs,''  and  the 
sages  derive  from  this  verse  the  doctrine  that  learning  does 
not  thrive  in  solitude.-    A  single  log  does  not  nourish  the 

>  Kid.  82  a.  '  Abot.  I,  lo;  II,  2;  B.  B.  11  a.  '  Taan.  11  a. 

*  Yer.  Kid.  IV  at  the  close.  '  Taan.  23  a.  "  .\bot.  V,  19. 

»Prov.  XXVIL  17.  'Taan.  7  a. 


W 


THE  MORAL  ELEMENTS  OF  CIVILIZATION         3»9 

flame ;  to  keep  up  the  fire  one  must  throw  in  one  piece  of 
wood  after  the  other.    This  applies  also  to  learning ;  U  lacks 
in  vigor,  if  it  is  not  communicated  to  others.     Wisdom  calls 
to  her  votaries  on  the  highways,  in  order  that  the  stream  of 
knowledge  may  overflow  for  many.    For  both  the  culture  of 
the  intellect  and  the  ennobUng  of  the  soul  it  is  necessary  that 
man  should  step  out  of  the  narrow  limits  of  self  and  come  mto 
touch  with  a  larger  world.    Only  in  devotion  to  his  fellows  is 
man  made  to  realize  his  own  godlike  nature.     In  the  same 
measure  as  he  honors  God's  image  in  others,  in  foe  as  well  as  m 
friend,  in  the  most  lowly  servant  as  well  in  the  most  noble 
master,  man  increases  his  own  dignity.     This  is  the  funda- 
mental thought  of  moraUty  as  expressed  in  Job,  especially  m 
the  beautiful  thirty-first  chapter,  and  as  embodied  m  Abra- 
ham,* and  later  reflect.  '  in  various  Tahnudic  sayings  about 
the  dignity  of  man.^    Everywhere  man's  relation  to  society 
becomes  a  test  of  his  own  worth.    The  idea  of  interdepend- 
ence and  reciprocal  duty  among  aU  members  of  the  human 
family  forms  the  outstanding  characteristic  of  Jewish  ethics. 
For  it  is  far  more  concerned  in  the  welfare  of  society  than  in 
that  of  the  individual,  and  demands  that  those  endowed  with 
fortune  should  care  for  the  unfortunate,  the  strong  for  the 
weak   and  those  blessed  with  vision  for  the  blind.     As  God 
Himself  is  Father  to  the  fatherless.  Judge  of  the  widows,  and 
Protector  of  the  oppressed,  so  should  man  be.     "Works  of 
benevolence  form  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  Torah," 
points  out  R.  Simlai.^ 

7.  It  is  in  the  life  of  the  nation  that  the  individual  first 
realizes  that  he  is  only  a  part  of  a  greater  whole.  The  nation 
to  which  he  belongs  is  the  mother  who  kou  ^es  him  with  her 
spirit,  teaches  him  to  speak  and  to  think,  and  equips  him  with 
all  the  means  to  take  part  in  the  achievements  and  tasks  of 


'  Sec  J.  E.,  art.  Abraham. 

2 1  .\bot.  IV,  I ;  B.  K.  79  b ;  Bcr.  19  b. 


» Sou  14  a- 


•MigFr^i- 


320 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


%  It  i' ' 


^H:  n' 


M' 


humanity.  In  fact,  the  State,  which  guarantees  to  all  its  citizens 
safety ,  order  and  opportunity  under  the  law,  and  which  arranges 
the  relations  of  the  various  groups  and  classes  of  society  that 
they  may  advance  one  another  and  thus  promt)te  the  welfare 
and  progress  of  all,  is  human  society  in  miniature.     Here  the 
citizen  first  learns  obedience  to  the  law  which  is  binding  upon 
all  alike,  then  resDect  and  reverence  for  the  authority  embodied 
in  the  guardians  of  the  law  who  administer  justice  "  which  is 
God's,"  and  hence  also  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the  whole,  to- 
gether with  reciprocal  obligation  and  helpfulness  among  the 
separate  members  and  classes  of  society.    The  words  of  Jere- 
miah to  his  exiled  brethren,  "Seek  ye  the  peace  of  the  city 
whither  I  have  caused  you  to  be  carried  away  captive,  and  pray 
unto  the  Lord  for  it,  for  in  the  peace  thereof  shall  yc  have 
peace," '  became  the  guiding  maxim  of  Jewry  when  torn  from 
its  native  soil.     It  impressed  upon  them,  once  for  all,  the 
deeply  rooted  virtues  of  loyalty  and  love  for  the  country  in 
which  they  dwelt.    To  pray  for  the  welfare  of  the  State  and 
its  ruler,  under  whose  dominion  all  citizens  were  protected, 
and  so  in  modern  times  for  its  legislative  and  administrative 
authorities,  has  become  a  sacred  duty  of  the  Jewish  religious 
community.     To  sacrifice  one's  life  willingly,  if  need  be,  for 
the  welfare  of  the  country  in  which  he  lived,  was  a  demand 
of  loyalty  which  the  Jew  has  never  disregarded.     "The  law 
of  the  State  is  as  the  law   of  God"^   taught  Samuel  the 
Babylonian,  and  another  sage  of  Babylon  said,  "The  govern- 
ment on  earth  is  to  be  regarded  as  an  image  of  God's  govern- 
ment in  heaven."  ^ 

8.  But,  after  all,  the  community  of  the  State  or  the  nation 
is  too  confined  in  its  cultural  work  by  its  special  interests  and 
particular  tasks  ever  to  reach  the  universal  ideal  of  man,  that 
is,  a  perfected  humanity.    Where  the  interests  of  one  State  or 


i;  !i' 


»  Jer.  XXIX,  7 ;  comp.  Abot.  Ill,  2. 
'  B.  K..  113  a  and  elsewhere. 


>  Ber.  58  a. 


11 


Lll 


Wf^. 


=^ 


m 


*^. 


v  = 


;^:*-f*£l^ 


■ 


^jliiLiaiLL 


THE  MORAL   ELEMENTS  OF  CIVILIZATION        321 

nation  come  into  conflict  with  those  of  another  far  too  oftv  n 
the  result  is  enmity  and  murderous  warfare.     Therefore  there 
must  be  a  higher  power  to  quench  the  brands  of  war  whenever 
they  flare  up,  to  cultivate  eery  motive  leading  toward  peace 
and  harmony  among  nations,  to  impel  men  toward  a  higher 
righteousness  and  to  obviate  all  conflict  of  interests,   because 
in  place  of  selfishness  it  implants  in  the  heart  the  self-forgetful- 
ness  of  love.     Religion  is  the  power  which  trains  peoples  as  well 
as  individuals  toward  the  conception  of  one  hunvmity,  in  the 
same  measure  as  it  points  to  the  one  and  only  God,  Ruler  over 
all  the  contending  motives  of  men,  the  Source  and  Shield  of  all 
righteousness,  truth,  and   love,   the   Father  of  mankind   as 
the  only  foundation  upon  vv-hich  the  grand  edifice  of  human 
civilization  must  ultimately  rest.     Thus  it  teaches  us  to  re- 
gard the  common  life  and  endeavor  of  peoples  and  societies 
as  one   household   of   divine   goodness.     Every   system   of 
belief,    every   religious   denomination   which   transcends  the 
limits  of    the   national   consciousness   with    a   view   to   the 
broader  conception  of  mankind,  and  binds  the  national  groups 
and  interests  into  a  higher  unity  to  include  and  influence  all 
the  depths  and  heights  of  the  human  spirit,  paves  the  way 
toward  the  attainment  of  the  mighty  goal.     In  the  same  sense 
the  united  efforts  of  the  various  classes  and  societies  or  States 
for  the  common  advance  of  culture,  prosperity,  national  wel- 
fare and  international  commerce,  as  well  as  of  science   and 
art,  tend  unceasingly  toward  that  full  realization  of  the  idea  of 
humanity  which  constitutes  the  brotherhood  of  man. 

9.  Not  yet  has  any  religious  body,  however  great  and  re- 
markable its  accomplishments  may  have  been,  nor  any  of  the 
religious,  scientific,  or  national  organizations,  much  as  they 
have  achieved,  performed  the  subliinc  task  which  the  prophets 
of  Israel  foretold  as  the  goal  of  history.  Each  one  has 
drawn  to  itself  only  a  portion  of  mankind,  and  promised  it 
success  or  redemption  and  bliss,  while  the  rest  have  been 


. 


m^Bmsm^^^mm:!!'^T^^mm^B^^m^9'>^v^?&m'^:m^f£m^Bm^ 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 

excluded  and  denied  both  temporal  and  ete-nal  happiness. 
Each  one  has  sin-led  out  one  side  of  human  nature  m  order  to 
link  to  it  the  enlire  absolute  truth,  but  at  the  same  time  has 
underestimated  or  cast  aside  all  other  sides  of  human  hfe,  and 
thereby   blocked   the   road   to   complete   truth    which   can 
..ever  be  presented  in  final  form,  nor  ever  be  the  exclusive 
possession  of  one  portion  of  humanity.    Jud^usin.  which  .s 
neither  a  religious  nor  a  national  system  solely,  but  aims  to  be 
a  covenant  with  God   uniting  all   peoples,   lays  claim  to  no 
exclusive  truth,  and  makes  its  appeal  to  no  smglt  group  of 
mankind     The  Messianic  hope,  which  aims  to  unite  all  races 
and  classes  of  men  into  a  bond  of  broth.. hood,  has  become  an 
impelling  force  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  both  Chris- 
tianity and  Islam,  in  so  far  as  they  owe  their  existence  to  this 
hope  and  to  the  adoption  of  Jewish  teachings,  constitute  parts 
of  the  history  of  Judaism.     Between  these  world-religions  with 
their  wide  domains  of   civilization  stands  the  little   Jewish 
people  as  a  cosmopolitan  element.     It  points  to  an  ideal 
future,  with  a  humanity  truly  united  in  God,  when,  through 
ceaseless  progress  in  the  pursuit  of  ever  more  perfect  ideals, 
truth,  justice,  and  peace  will  triumph, -to   the  reahzation 
of  the  kingdom  of  God. 


■tif 


tS   :|I 


PART    III 

ISRAEL   AND   THE   KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

CHAPTER  XLVIII 
The  Electiov  of  Israel 

1.  The  central  point  of  Jewish  theology  and  the  key  to  an 
understanding  of  the  nature  of  Judaism  is  the  doctrine,  "God 
chose  Israel  as  His  people."  The  election  of  Israel  as  the 
chosen  people  of  God.  or,  what  amounts  to  the  same,  as  the 
nation  whose  special  task  and  historic  mission  it  is  to  be  the 
bearer  of  the  most  lofty  truths  of  religion  among  mankind, 
forms  the  basis  and  the  chief  condition  of  revelation.  Before 
God  proclaimed  the  Ten  Words  of  the  Covenant  on  Sinai, 
He  addressed  the  people  through  His  chosen  messenger, 
Moses,  saying :  "  Ye  have  seen  what  I  did  unto  the  Egyptians, 
and  how  I  bore  you  on  eagles'  wings,  and  brought  you  unto 
Myself.  Now  therefore,  if  ye  will  hearken  unto  My  voice, 
indeed,  and  keep  My  covenant,  then  ye  shall  be  Mine  own 
treasure  from  among  all  peoples,  for  all  the  earth  is  Mine; 
and  ye  shall  be  unto  Me  a  kingdom  of  priests,  and  a  holy 
nation."  ' 

2.  The  fact  of  Israel's  election  by  God  as  His  peculiar 
nation  is  repeated  in  Deuteronomy,  with  the  special  declara- 
tion that  God  had  found  delight  in  them  as  the  smallest  of 
the  peoples,  on  account  of  the  love  and  the  faith  He  had  sworn 
'    the  Patriarchs.-    It  is  accentuated  in  the  Synagogal  liturgy, 


'  Ex.  XIX,  4-5. 

»Deut.  VII,  6-8;  X,  is;  XIV,  2. 


Comp.  Schechter:  Aspects,  57  ff. 


j-'j 


mi 


^m^^^mmx^msmm/ms^mim^mm 


334 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


^  1  •*;; 


L-W. 


leii 


I!'     ' 


» ;* 


u 


especially  in  the  prayer  for  holy  days  which  begins  with  the 
words:   "Thou  hast  chosen  us  from  all  peoples;   Thou  hast 
loved  us  and  found  pleasure  in  us  and  hast  exalted  us  above 
all  tongues ;  Thou  hast  sanctified  us  by  Thy  commandments 
and  brought  us  near  unto  Thy  service,  O  King,  and  hast 
called  us  by  Thy  great  and  holy  name."  '     Inasmuch  as  the 
election  of  Israel  is  connected  with  the  deliverance  of  the 
people  from  Eg>pt,  the  whole  relation  of  the  Jewish  nation 
to  its  God  assumes  from  the  outset  an  essentially  different 
character  from  that  of  other  nations  to  their  deities.     The 
God  of  Israel  is  not  inseparably  connected  with  His  people 
by  mere  natural  bonds,  as  is  the  case  with  every  other  ancient 
divinity.     He  is  not  a  national  God  in  the  ordinary  sense. 
He  has  chosen  Israel  freely  of  His  own  accord.     "When 
Israel  was  a  child,  then  I  loved  him,  and  out  of  Egypt  I  called 
My  son."  says  God  through  Hosea,'^  and  thus  prefers  to  call 
Himself  "thy  God  from  the  land  of  Egypt."    This  election 
from  love  is  echoed  also  in  Jeremiah,  who  said,  "Israel  is  the 
Lord's  hallowed   portion.  His  first-fruits  of   the  increase." ' 
The  moral  relation  between  God  and  Israel  is  most  clearly 
characterized,  however,  by  Amos,  in  the  words:   "You  only 
have  I  known  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth;    therefore  I 
will  visit  upon  you  all  your  iniquities."*     Here  is  stated  in 
explicit  terms  that  the  God  of  history  selected  Israel  as  an 
instrument  for  His  plan  of  salvation,  in  the  expectation  that 
he  would  remain  faithful  to  His  will. 

3.  The  real  purpose  of  the  election  and  mission  of  Israel 
was  announced  by  the  great  prophet  of  the  Exile  when  he 
called  Israel  the  "servant  of  the  Lord,"  who  has  been  formed 
from  his  mother's  bosom  and  delivered  from  every  other 
bondage,  in  order  that  he  may  declare  the  praise  of  God 
among  the  peoples,  and  be  a  harbinger  of  light  and  a  bond  of 


'•  See  Singer':  Prsycrbook ,  226  f. 
'Jer.  11,3. 


«Hqs.  XI.  i:  XII.  10;  Xm,  4- 

*  Amos  HI,  2. 


H^t!' 


M 


THE  ELECTION  OF  ISRAEL 


32s 


union  among  the  nations,  the  witness  of  God,  the  proclaimer 
of  His  truth  and  righteousness  throughout  the  world.'  The 
entire  history  of  Israel  as  far  back  as  the  Patriarchs 
was  reconstructed  in  this  light,  and  we  find  the  eledion 
of  Abraham  also  similarly  described  in  the  Psalms  -  and  in 
the  liturgy.  Indeed,  in  every  morning  i)rayer  for  the  past 
two  thousand  years  the  Jewish  jK'ople  have  olTered  thanks 
to  God  for  the  divine  teaching  that  has  been  intrusted 
to  their  care,  and  praised  Him  "who  has  chosen  Israel  in 
love."  ' 

4.  The  belief  in  the  election  of  Israel  rests  on  the  conviction 
that  the  Jewish  people  has  a  certain  superiority  over  (jther 
peoples  in  being  especially  qualified  to  be  the  mei^senger  and 
champion  of  religious  truth.  In  one  s<.n--e  this  prerogative 
takes  into  account  every  people  which  has  contributed  some- 
thing unique  to  any  department  of  human  power  or  knowledge, 
and  therein  has  served  others  as  pattern  and  guide.  From 
the  broader  standpoint,  all  great  historic  peoi)les  appear  as 
though  appointed  by  divine  providence  for  their  special  cul- 
tural tasks,  in  which  others  can  at  most  emulat-'  thorn  without 
achieving  their  greatness.  Yet  we  cannot  speak  in  quite  the 
same  way  of  the  election  of  the  Greeks  or  Romans  or  cf  the 
nations  of  remote  antiquity  for  mastery  in  art  and  science, 
or  for  skill  in  jurisprudence  and  statecraft.  The  fact  is  that 
these  nations  were  never  fully  conscious  that  they  had  a  his- 
toric or  providential  destiny  to  influence  mankind  in  this 
special  direction.  Israel  alone  was  self-conscious,  realizing 
its  task  as  harbinger  and  defender  of  its  religious  truth  as 
soon  as  it  had  entered  into  its  possession.  Its  election,  there- 
fore, does  not  imply  presumption,  but  rather  a  grave  duty 
and  responsibility.  As  the  great  seer  of  the  Captivity  had 
already  declared,  to  be  the  servant  of  the  Lord  is  to  undergo 

>  I?.i.  XL!,  .8  f. :  XI.II.  6 :  XLIII,  lo :  XLIX.  8 

'  CV,  7  f.,  comp.  Neh.  IX,  7.  '  Singers  Prayrrb.,  p.  40. 


326 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


:mtn 


the  destiny  of  sufTcring.  to  be  "the  man  of  sorrow,"  from 
whose  bruises  comes  hcalinR  unto  all  mankind.' 

5.    Accordingly  the  election  of  Israel  cannot  be  regarded 
as  a  single  divine  act,  concluded  at  one  moment  of  revelation, 
or  even  during  the  Biblical  pericxl.     It  must  instead  be  con- 
sidered a  divine  call  persisting  through  all  ages  and  encom- 
passing all  lands,  a  continuous  activity  of  the  spirit  which  has 
ever  summoned  for  itself  new  heralds  and  heriK'S  to  testify 
to  truth,  justice,  and  sublime  faith,  with  an  unparalleled 
scorn  for  death,  and  to  work  for  their  dissemination  by  words 
and  deeds  and  by  their  whole  life.     Judaism  differs  from  all 
other  religions  in  that  it  is  neither  the  creation  of  one  great 
moral  teacher  and  preacher  of  truth,  nor  seeks  to  typify  the 
moral   and  spiritual  sublimity  which  it  aims  to  develop  in 
a  single  person,  who  is  then  lifted  up  into  the  realm  of  the 
superhuman.     Judaism  counts  its  prophets,  its  sages,  and  its 
martyrs  by  generations;  it  is  still  demonstrating  its  power 
to  reshape  and  regenerate  religion  as  a  vital  force.     Moreover, 
Judaism  does  not  separate  religion  from  life,  so  as  to  regard 
only  a  segment  of  the  common  life  and  the  national  existence  as 
holy.    The  entire  people,  the  entire  life,  must  bear  the  stamp 
of  holiness  and  be  filled  with  priestly  consecration.     Whether 
this  lofty  aim  can  ever  be  completely  attained  is  a  question  not 
to  be  decided  by  short-sighted  humanity,  but  only  by  God.  the 
Ruler  of  history.     It  is  sufTn  ient  that  the  life  of  the  individual 
as  well  as  that  of  the  people  should  aspire  toward  this  ideal. 

6.  Of  couise,  the  election  of  Israel  presupposes  an  inner 
calling,  a  special  capacity  of  soul  and  tendency  of  intellect 
which  fit  it  for  the  divine  task.  The  people  which  has  given 
mankind  its  greatest  prophets  and  psalmists,  its  boldest 
thinkers  and  its  noblest  martyrs,  which  has  brought  to  frui- 
tion the  three  great  world-religions,  the  Church,  the  Mosque, 
and  —  mother  of  them  both  —  the  Synagogue,  must  be  the 

'Isa.  LII,  3-LIII,  12. 


timaasi?^ 


Tin:   ELECTION  OF  ISRAEL 


337 


religious  ptople  par  excellence.     It  must  have  within  itself 
enough  of  the  heavenly  spark  of  truth  and  of  the  impetus 
of  the  religious  genius  as  t«)  be  able  and  eager,  whenever  and 
wherever  the  ()|)|)ortunity  is  favorable,  to  direc  t  the  spiritual 
flight  of  humanity  toward  the  highest  and  holiest.     In  fact, 
the  soul  of  the  Jewish  [K-ople  reveals  a  peculiar  mingling  of 
characteristi(  s,  a  union  of  contrasts,  which  makes  it  especially 
fit  for  its  prt)vidential  mission  in  history.     Together  with  the 
marked  individuality  of  each  person  we  find  a  common  spirit 
highly  sensitive   to   every  encroachment.     Here   there   is  a 
tenacious  adherence  to  what  is  oM  and  traditional,  and  there 
an  eager  assimilation  of  what  is  new  and  strange.     On  the 
one   hand,   a  materialistic  self-interest;    on   the  other,   an 
idealism  soaring  to  the  stars.'      ihe  sages  of  the  Tannaitic 
period  already  remarked  that  Israel  has  been  intrusted  with 
the  law  which  it  is  to  defend  and  to  disseminate,  just  because 
it  is  the  boldest  and  most  obstinate  of  nations.^    On  the  other 
hand,  the  three  special  characteristics  of  the  Jewish  people 
according  to  the  Talmud  are  its  chastity  and  purity  of  life, 
its  benevolence  and  its  active  love  for  humanity.'    A  heathen 
scofTcr  calls  Israel   "a  people  of  generous  impulses  which 
promised  at  Sinai  to  do  what  Ciod  would  command,  even 
before  it  had  hearkened  to  the  commandments."''     "Gentle 
and  shy  as  a  dove,  it  is  also  willing  like  the  dove  to  stretch 
out  its  neck  for  the  sacritke,  for  love  of  its  heavenly  Father," 
says    the   Haggadist.^     And   yet   R.  Johanan  remarks    that 
Israel,  called  to  be  the  bearer  of  liKht  to  the  world,  must  be 
pressed  like  the  olive  before  it  will  yield  its  precious  oil." 
Every  individual  in  Israel  possesses  the  requisite  qualities 
for  a  holy  priest-people,  according  to  a  Midrash  of  the  Tan- 
naitic period,  and  hence  we  read  in  Deuteronomy,  "The  Lord 

•  Meg.  16  a.  '  Beza  25  b.  *  Ycb.  79  »• 

•  Shab.  83  a.  '  Cant.  R.  IV,  2  :  Tanh.  Tezavch  i. 

•  Menah.  S3  b  with  ref.  to  Jer.  XI,  16. 


^«ff.Jl*: 


1^ 


m 


!   < 


I 


n 
'I 


Ml 


m 


\-'.' 


if  ^ 


III 

II  i-n ' 

\  4   f  r  Hi' 


!   1 

i 

•i  .-1 


3i8 


JEWISH  T!IE0I.0(;Y 


hath  choson  ihco  to  Iw  Hi»  own  treasure  out  of  all  i)eoples 
that  are  ujton  the  face  «>(  the  earth"  ' 

7.    All  these  and  nimilar  sayings  tlisprove  completely  the 
i.iea  that  the  election  of  Israel  was  an  arbitrary  act  of  (I.mI. 
It  is  clue  rather  t(»  hereditary  virtues  and  to  tendencies  of 
mind  and  spirit  which  ecjuij)  Israel  for  his  callinR.     To  this 
must   be  added   the  imi>ortant  fact  that  (LkI  educated  the 
IK'ople  for  its  task  through  the  Law.  which  was  to  make  it 
conscious  of  its  priestly  sanctity  and  keep  it  ever  active  in 
mind  and  heart.     The  election  of  Israel  is  emphasized   in 
Deuteronomy  esiK-cially  in  connection  with  the  prohibiti.m 
of  marriaKe  with  idolaters  and  with  the  prohibition  of  unclean 
animals,  which  also  originated   in  the  priestly  laws'    The 
underlying  idea  is  that  the  mission  of  Israel  to  battle  for  the 
Most  High  imjK-ratively  demands  separation  from  the  heathen 
peoples,  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  its  priestly  calling  neces- 
sitates an  esiwcial   abstinence.     And  as  has  the  law  in  its 
development  and  realization  for  thousands  of  years,  so  has  also 
God's  wise  guidance  trained  Israel  in  the  course  of  history 
so  as  to  render  him  at  times  the  unyielding  preserver  and 
defender  and  at  other  times  the  bold  champion  and  protagonist 
of  the  highest  truth  and  justice,  according  as  the  outlook  and 
the  mental  horizon  of  the  period  were  narrow  or  broad. 

8.  It  is  true  that  the  thought  of  Israel's  calling  and  mission 
in  world-history  first  became  clear  when  its  prophets  and  sages 
attained  a  view  of  great  world-movements  from  the  lofty 
watch-tower  of  the  centuries,  so  that  they  could  take  cogni- 
zance of  the  varying  relations  of  Judaism  to  the  civilized 
peoples  around.  The  summon?  of  the  Jewish  oeople  to  be 
heralds  of  truth  and  workers  for  peace  is  first  mentioned  in 
Isaiah  and  Micah.»  while  only  in  the  great  movement  of  nations 

>  Sifre  to  Deut.  XIV.  2,  «  Dcut.  Vile ;  XIV,  j.    ^^ 

»  lia.  II,  3;  Micah  IV,  2  — passages  ioU3iii<.aU  ^y  uiudtrn  ^::iK-  ♦-•  r~:  •-• 
exilic  origin. 


THE   ELF.tTION  OF  ISRAEL 


3J9 


under  Cyrus  did  the  st'i-r  of  the  Kxilc  nrogni/f  the  pn uliar 
mission  o(  Israel  in  the  history  of  the  world      If  in  Kl<H)my 
pcriwis  the  outl«M)k  l»ecame  <lark,  still  the  ht>|H-  for  the  ful- 
fillment of  this  mi^Mon  was  never  entirely   lint      In   fart. 
the  contait  of  the  Jewish  people  with  (ireek  culture  after 
Alexander  the  CJreat  Raw   new  jxiwer  and  fresh  impetus  to 
the  comeption  of  Israel's  mission.'  as  the  rii  h  Hellenistii  lit- 
erature and  the  vision  «)f  Daniel  in  chapter  VII  testify.     In 
fait.  Abraham,  the  ancestor  of  the  Jewish  jK-oph-,  l)e«ame  for 
the  earliest  IlaRKadists  a  wandering  missionary  ami  a  Rreat 
preacher  of  the  unity  of  (lod,  and  his  picture  was  the  t)attern 
for  both  Paul  and  Mohammed.'    The  election  »»f  Israel  is 
clearly  and  uncquivixally  expressed  by  Rabbi  Kleazar  ben 
Pedath  in  the  words,  "God  sent  Israel  amonj?  the  heathen 
nations  that  they  may  win  a  rich  harvest  of  proselytes,  for, 
as  God  said  through  Hosea.  'I  will  sow  her  unto  Me  in  the 
land.'  s«j  He  wishes  from  this  seed  to  reap  a  bountiful  and 
world-wide  harvest."* 

9.  In  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  historical  viewpoint 
and  the  idea  of  human  progress  were  both  laikin,',  the  belief 
in  the  mission  of  Israel  was  confmed  to  the  Messianic  hope. 
Both  Jehuda  ha  Levi  and  Maimonides,  howevir.  regard 
Christianity  and  Islam  as  preparatory  stej)s  for  the  Messiah, 
who  is  to  unify  the  world  through  the  knowledge  of  Gtxl.* 
"The  work  of  the  Messiah  is  the  fruit,  of  whi«  h  Israel  will 
be  universally  acknowledged  as  the  root."  saV'.  the  Jewish 
sage  in  the  Cuzari.  Therefore  he  rightly  accepts  the  election 
of  Israel  as  a  fundamental  doctrine  of  belief.  Modern  times, 
however,  with  their  awakened  historical  sense  and  their  idea 
of  progress,  have  again  placed  in  the  foreground  the  belief 

'  Sec  Bousset.  1.  c,  60-09. 

« Gen.  R.  to  Gen.  XII.  4,  and  sec  J.  F...  art.  .\braham. 

i  Pc  87  Ji  with  rcf.  t'»  Hiwr.T  II.  25. 

*  Cuzari  IV,  23;  Maim.  II.  Mclakim  XI,  4. 


*^l 


(  .1 


JJO 


JF.WISII   THF.OUK'.Y 


In  thr  riettion  and  mi^Hi(.n  ..{  hratl.     Thr  fcundrrH  of  reform 
Ju«lai-m  have-  ca^t  thi'i  ancUnt  .I.k trine  in  a  nrw  form      On 
thr  onr  hand,  ihry  have  ri.nlrrpri'tftl  the  M^Manic  hope 
In  the  pr.tphc-tii  s|»irit,  as  thr  realization  of  the  hiKhrnt  ideaU 
of  a  united  humanity.     On  the  other,  they  have  rejected  the 
entire  lht»»ry  that    I>rael  wa-*  exiled  from  his  amient   land 
luvausc  of  hi:,  sins,  and  that  he  U  eventually  to  return  there 
and  t.»  restore  the  sac  rilu  ial  t  ult  in  th»'  Temple  at  Jerusalem. 
Therefore  the  whole  view  concernInK  Israel's  future  hatl  to 
undergo  a  transformation.'      The  historic  mission  ttf  Israel  as 
priest  of  humanity  and  ihampion  of  truth  assumed  a  higher 
meaivlng.  and  his  peculiar  {M)sition  in  history  and  in  the  L.tW 
necessarily   received  a  ditlerenl  interpretation  from  that  of 
Talmudic  Judaism  or  that  ui  the  Church.     As  individuals, 
indeed,  many  Jews  have  taken  part  in  the  achievements  and 
efforts  of  all  civilized  peoples ;   the  Jewish  |H-ople  as  such  has 
accomplished  great  things  in  only  one  field,  the  held  of  reli- 
gion     The    following   chapters   will    consider    more    closely 
how  Judaism  has  taken  up  and  carried  out  this  sacred  missitm. 

»  Sec  Gcigcr :  Zeilschr.  i86S,  p.  i8  (T. ;  i»6o,  55  fl 


H 


n- ti 


r-i" 


lim  .iA¥  ^ 


^Oi. 


ruArriR  xi.ix 

Til.,  KiNtaxtM  t>r  (ini>  \nu   mi    Mission  (if  Ihrah. 

I.    rhf  hit|M-  of  Jml.iistn  for  thr  fvjlurt-  i«.  inn    .rlxil  in  the 
phrase,  "the   kin>?'l.>(n  of    (iiul,"       nvilknlh  sh.uUiii  or  mal- 
knth  Shamayim,       vvhiih  \\\vm\s  tht-  xu\,riiKr»  rule  of  (i«M|. 
From  .imient   times  the  liturgy  of  the  Syn;iKoKUe  tout  hide-* 
regularly  with  the  solemn  Mnttt.  in  whiih  (iotl  is  adilresH-d 
ai*  the  "Kinn  of  kin«.  of  kill«^"       kinjj;  of  kind's  l>einjj  the 
Persian  title  for  the  ruler  of  tin-  whole  f'.mpire      ami  (lirt-.  tly 
after  this  the  hojR' i>,  tx|»re^-ei|  that  "we  may  s|Ke(lily  l>ehi  Iil 
the  f^lory  of  Ihy  mij^ht.  when  Thou  wilt  remove  the  abomina- 
tions from  the  earth,  ami  the  idols  will  he  utterly  tut  <>tT; 
when  the  world  will  he  perfected  under  the  kin«dom  ul  ilie 
Almighty,  ami  all  the  (  hil<lren  of  fle^h  will  call  upon  'hy  nana- ; 
when  Thou  wilt  turn  unto  Thyself  all  the  wiiked  >A  the  (  irth. 
Let  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  {HTeeive  and  know  that 
unto  Thee  every  knee  mu^t   bend,  and  every    tongue  give 
homage.     Let   them   all  aeeept   the  yoke  of    Thy  king<lom. 
and  do  Thou  reign  over  them  s|H-edily.  and  forever  and  ever."  ' 
At  the  close  of  the  Torah  lesson  in  the  house  of  learning  the 
assembly   regularly   rented    the    blessing.    "Praised   be  Thy 
name  !     NLiy  Thy  kingdom  s<Min  eome  '.  '     -  afterwards  known 
as  the  Kaddish^ixnd  reechoetl  in  the  so-called  "  Lord's  Prayer" 
of  the  Church.     The  words  of  the  prophet.  "The  Lord  shall 
be  King  over  all  the  earth  ;  in  that  day  shall  the  Lord  be  Ont , 
and  His  name  One," '  voiced  for  all  ages  this  ideal  of  the  future, 
and  thus  gave  a  ^oal  and  a  purpose  to  the  history  of  the  world 


'  J.  E.,  art.  Ah-nu:  Singer's  Pravcrh.,  76  f. 
« J.  E.,  art.  Kaddish. 

J31 


•  Zech.  XIV,  0. 


332 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


M 


ii  v^- 


and  at  the  same  time  centered  it  in  Israel,  the  chosen  people 
of  God. 

2.   The  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  the  One  and  Only 
God  throughout  the  entire  world  constitutes  the  divine  plan 
of  salvation  toward  which,  according  to  Jewish  teaching, 
the  efforts  of  all  the  ages  are  lending.     This  "Kingdom  of 
God"  is  not,  however,  a  kingdom  of  heaven  in  the  world  to 
come,  which  men  are  to  enter  only  after  death,  and  then  only 
if  redeemed  from  sin  by  accepting  the  belief  m  a  supernatural 
Savior  as  their  Messiah,  as  is  tau}:ht  by  the  Church.     Judaism 
points  to  God's  Kingdom  on  earth  as  the  goal  and  hope  of 
mankind,  to  a  world  in  which  all  mcr    ind  nations  shall  turn 
away  from  idolatry  and  wickedness,  falsehood   md  violence, 
and  become  united  in  their  recognition  of  ti. ,  sovereignty 
of  God.  the  Holy  One,  as  proclaimed  by  Israel.  His  servant 
and  herald,  the  Messiah  of  the  nations.     It  is  not  the  hope 
of  bliss  in  a  future  life  (which  is  the  catling  motive  of  Chris- 
tianity), but  the  building  up  of  the  divine  kingdom  of  truth, 
justice,  and  peace  among  men  by  Israel's  teaching  and  prac- 
tice.'    In  this  sense  God  speaks  through  the  mouth  of  the 
prophet,  "I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  iight  of  the  nations,  that 
My  salvation  may  be  unto  the  end  of  the  earth." ^    "All  the 
ends  of  the  earth  shall  see  the  salvation  of  our  God."  '     "The 
remnant  of  Jacob  shall  be  in  the  mic'st  of  many  peoples,  as 
dew  from  the  Lord,  as  showers  uj^on  the  grass."  * 

3.  Clearly,  the  idea  of  a  world-kingdom  of  God  arose  only 
as  the  result  of  the  gradual  development  ;)f  the  Jewish  God- 
consciousness.  It  was  necessary  at  first  that  the  prophetic 
idea  of  God's  kingship,  the  theocracy  in  Isiael,  should  triumph 
over  the  monarchical  view  and  absorb  it.  The  patriarchal 
life  of  the  shepherd  was  certainly  not  favorable  to  a  monar- 
chical rule.     "I  will  not  rule  over  you,  neither  shall  my  son  rule 


•  See  Schechter ; 
»Isa.  LII,  10.; 


Aspects,  89  f.,  93  f- 


» la.  XLiy,  6. 
<  Llicah  V,  6. 


r-K.aSJitiJIii'^cia'Ti^JBF^'  ■ 


.**:*J3 


J.  .  'T??'&f!?%" 


KINGDOM  OF  GOD  AND  THE  MISSION  OF  ISR.\EL     333 

over  you,  the  Lord  shall  rule  over  you,"  said  (iidcon  in  refus- 
ing the  title  of  king  which  the  jwople  hud  offered  him.'     Ac- 
cording to  one  tradition  Samuel  blamed  the  people  for  desiring 
a  king  and  thereby  rejecting  the  divine  kingship.^    "I  give 
thee  a  king  in  Mine  anger,"  says  God  through  Hosea.'    The 
more  the  monarchy,  with  its  exclusively  worldly  and  material- 
istic aims,  came  into  conflict  with  the  demands  «)f  the  prophets 
and  their  religious  truth,  the  higher  rose  the  i)rophetic  hope 
for  the  dawning  of  a  day  when  God  alone  would  rule  in  ab- 
solute sovereignty  over  the  entire  world.     Now,  in  the  king- 
dom of  the  Ten  Tribes,  with  its  frequently  changing  dynasties, 
the  old  patriarchal  conception  was  dominant,  while  in  the 
kingdom  of  Judah,  which  remained  loyal  to  the  house  of 
David,  the  monarchical  idea  developed.     Isaiah,   living  in 
Jerusalem  and  favorably  disposed  towards  the  monarchy, 
prophesied  that  a  shoot  from  the  house  of  David,  endowed 
with  marvelous  spiritual  powers,  should  come  forth,  occupy- 
ing the  throne  in  the  place  of  God.  and  through  his  victories 
would  plant  righteousness  and  the  knowledge  of  God  every- 
where upon  earth,  and  establish   throughout  the  world  a 
wonderful  reign  of  peace.'*     Upon  this  royal  "  shoot "  of  David '^ 
rested  the  Messianic  hope  during  the  Exile,  and  amidst  the 
disappointments  of  the  time  this  vision  became  all  the  more 
idealized.     In  contrast  to  this  the  great  prophet  of  the  Exile 
announced  the  establishment  of  the  absolute  dominion  of  God 
as  the  true  "  King  of  Israel "  »  over  all  the  earth  by  the  nucleus 
of  Israel,  "the  servant  of  God,"  who  would  become  conscious 
of   his  great   historic  mission  in  the  world   and   be  willing 
to  offer  his  very  life  in  its  cause.     In  all  this  the  prophet 
makes  no  reference  to  the  royal  hou.c  of  David,  but  makes 
'  Judg.  VIII,  23.  '  I  Sam.  VIII,  - ;  XII,  12,  17  f- 

•Hos.XIII,  ...  Msa.  IX.s;  XI,  i-io. 

» Isa.  IV,  2 ;  Jer.  XXIII,  5 ;  XXXIII,  .5  i  and  Z-ch.  Ill,  8 ;  VI,  12.     Here 
Zerubhabcl  is  referred  to. 

« Isa.  XLI,  21 ;  XLIII,  15 ;  XLIV,  6.    Comp.  XLIII,  22. 


334 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


V: 


?  li! 


<»;;■ 


\:      H|l 


bold  to  confer  the  title  of  the  "anointed  of  God"  —  that  is, 
Messiah  —  upon  Cyrus,  the  king  of  Persia,  as  the  one  who 
was  to  usher  in  tht-  new  era.'  Subsequently  these  two  di- 
vergent hopes  for  the  future  run  parallel  in  the  Psabns 
and  the  liturgy  as  well  as  in  the  apocryphal  and  rabbinic 
literature. 

4.   While  the  Messianic  aspirations  as  such  bore  rather  a 
political  and  national  character  in  Judaism  (as  will  be  ex- 
plained in  Chapter  LIII).  yet  the  religious  hope  for  a  univer- 
sal kingvlom  of  God  took  root  even  more  deeply  in  the  heart 
of  the  Jewish  people.    It  created  the  conception  of  Israel's 
mission  and  also  the  literature  and  acti'  ity  of  the  Hellenis- 
tic propaganda,  and  it  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  making 
of  proselytes  among  the  heathen,  to  which  both  Christianity 
and  Islam  owe  their  existence.    The  words  of  Isaiah,  repeated 
later  by  Habakkuk,  "The  earth  will  be  full  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  .he  sea,"  ^  became  now  an 
article  of  faith.    While  in  earlier  times  the  rule  of  Israel's 
God,  JHVH,  was  attached  to  Zion,  from  whose  holy  mount 
He  ruled  as  invisible  King.'  later  on  we  find  Zechariah  pro- 
claiming Him  who  was  enthroned  in  heaven  as  having  domin- 
ion over  the  entire  earth,*  and  the  Psalter  summons  all  nations 
to  acknowledge,  adore,  and  extol  Him  as  King  of  the  world.* 
Nay,  at  the  very  time  when  Judah  lay  humbled  to  the  ground, 
the  prophet  exclaimed,  "Who  would  not  fear  Thee,  O  King 
of  the  nations?  for  it  befitteth  Thee;   forasmuch  as  among 
all  the  wise  men  of  the  nations,  and  in  all  their  royalty  there 
is  none  like  unto  Thee."«    Israel's  great  hope  for  the  future 
is  expressed  most  complecely  and  in  most  sublime  language 
in  the  New  Year  liturgy:    "0  Lord  our  God,  impose  Thine 

'  Isa.  XLV,  I.  »  Tsa.  XI,  9;   Hab.  II,  14. 

>  Isa.  VI,  s  ;  XXIV,  23.     Comp.  Jer.  XLVI,  18;  XLVIII,  15. 
♦  Zech.  XIV,  Q ;   Mai.  I,  14.  '  Ps.  XXII,  2g ;   XCIII,  i ;  XCV,  gq. 

•Jer.  X,  7.     This  chapter  is  post-exilic;  comp.  Jer.  XLVI,  18;  XLVIII, 
15  and  I  Chron.  XXIX,  11. 


■.•"-^s^m^^. 


^m/sm 


KINGDOM  OF  GOD  AND  IHE  MISSION  OF  ISRAEL     335 

awe  upon  all  Thy  works,  and  let  Thy  (iread  be  upon  all  that 
Thou  hast  created,  that  they  may  all  form  one  single  band  to 
do  Thy  will  with  a  perfect  heart.  .  .  .  Our  God  and  God  of 
our  fathers,  reveal  Thyself  in  Thy  splendor  as  King  over  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  world,  that  every  handiwork  of  Thine 
may  know  that  Thou  hast  made  it,  and  every  creature  may 
acknowledge  that  Thou  hast  created  it,  and  whatsoever  hath 
breath  in  its  nostrils  may  say  :  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  is  King, 
and  His  dominion  rulcth  over  all."  ' 

5.   In  the  earlier  period,  then,  the  rule  of  JHVH  seems  to 
have  b.en  confined  to  Israel  as  the  people  of  His  covenant. 
During  the  Second  Temple  Jerusalem  was  called  the  "city 
of  the  great  King"  ^  and  the  constitution  was  considered  by 
Josephus  to  have  been  a  theocracy,  that  is,  a  government  by 
God.'    Indeed,  the  entire  Mosaic  code  has  as  its  main  purpose 
to  make  Israel  a  "kingdom  of  priests,"  over  which  JHVH, 
the  God  of  the  covenant,  was  alone  to  rule  as  King.     The 
chief  object  of  the  strict  nationalists,  in  opposition  to  the 
cosmopolitanism  of  the  Hellenists,  was  that  this  government 
of  God,  in  its  intimate  association  with  the  Holy  Land  and 
the  Holy  People,  should  be  maintained  unchanged  for  all  the 
future.     Thus  the  book  of  Daniel  predicts  the  speedy  downfall 
of  the  fourth  world-kingdom  and  the  establishment  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  through  Israel,  "the  people  of  the  saints  of 
the  Most  High;  their  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom."* 
Naturally,  such  a  purely  nationalistic  conception  of  the  ruler- 
ship  of  God  does  not  admit  the  thought  of  a  mission  or  its 
corollary,  the   conversion   of    the   heathen.''    These  appear 
among  the  liberal  school  of  Hillel  in  their  opposition  to  the 
nore  rigorous   Shammaites  and   the  party  of   the   Zealots." 
It  is,  therefore,  quite  consistent  that  the  modern  nationalists 
should  again  dispute  the  mission  of  Israel. 

»  SinRcr's  Prayerb.,  239.  '  Ps.  XI.VIIT,  ^.  '  Cn,it.  Al>io-.  II,  16,  7. 

*  Dan.  VII.  27.  »  See  J.  E.,  art.  Zealots.  •  Shah.  31  a. 


336 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


It  I 


ii-^V  .  i 


?fin.! 


i.i . 


6.   As  soon   as  Jewish  monotheism  had  once  b«en  con- 
ceived by  the  Jewish  mind  as  the  universal  truth,  the  idea  of 
the  mission  of  Israel  as  a  bearer  of  light  and  a  witness  of 
Gtxl  for  the  nations,  as  enunciated  by  Deutero-Isiiiah.  be- 
came ever  more  firmly  established.     Many  Psalms  exhort  the 
people  to  make  known  the  wondrous  doings  of  Ciod  among 
the  nations,  so  that  the  heathen  world  might  at  last  acknowl- 
edge the  One  ami  Only  Gml.'     Nay,  Israel  is  even  called 
(iod's  anointed  and  prophet.^  and  in  one  Psalm  we  find  Zion, 
the  city  of  God.  elevated  to  be  the  religious  metropolis  of  the 
world.'    The  book  of  Jonah  is  simply  a  refutation  of  the 
narrow  nationalistic  conception  of  Judaism;    it  holds  forth 
the  hope  of  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  t.)  the  true  knowl- 
edge «)f  God.     In  the  same  spirit  Ruth  the  Moabitess  became 
the  type  of  the  heathen  who  are  eager  to  "take  refuge  under 
the  wings  of  (iod's  majesty."*    The  author  of  the  book  of 
Job  no  longer  knows  of  a  national  God ;   to  him  God  is  the 
highest  ideal  of  morality  as  it  lives  and  grows  in  the  human 
heart.    The  wisdom  literature  also  teaches  a  God  of  humanity. 
Under  His  wings  Shem  and  Japhcth,  the  teaching  of  the  Jew 
and  the  wisdt)m  of  the  (keek,  can  join  hands;   the  religious 
truth  of  the  one  and  the  philosophic  truth  of  the  other  may 
harmoniously  blend. 

7.  Thus  a  new  impulse  was  given  to  Jewish  proselytism 
in  Alexandria,  and  the  earlier  history  of  Israel,  especially  the 
pre-Israelite  epoch  with  its  simple  human  types,  was  read 
in  a  new  light.  Enoch*  and  Noah  *  bc(  ame  preachers  of  peni- 
tence, heralds  of  the  pure  monotheism  from  which  the  heathen 
world  had  departed.  Abraham  especially,  the  progenitor 
of  Israel,  was  looked  upon  as  a  prototype  of  the  wandering 

•  Ps.  XXII.  28;  LXVII.  3;  LXXXVI.  10;  CXVII,  i. 

«  Ps.  CV.    5.  '  Ps.  LXXXVII,  5.     See  Commentaries  and  LXX. 

♦Ruthll,  1:.     Comp.  Lev.  R.  II,  S. 

'  Sec  both  l-.noch  books  and  B.  Sira  XLIV,  16. 

•Sibyil.  I.  12S-170;  Sanh.  108  a. 


H:  ^ 


KINGDOM  OF  GOD  AND  THE  MISSION  OF   ISRAEL     337 

missionary  people,  converting  the  heathen."  Wherever  he 
journeyed,  his  teaching  and  his  example  of  true  benevolence 
won  souls  for  the  Lord  proclaimed  l)y  him  as  the  "Go<l  of 
the  heaven  and  the  earth."  ^  In  this  sense  of  missionary  ac- 
tivity were  now  interpreted  the  words,  "  Be  thou  a  blessing  .  .  . 
and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed."' 
This  was  no  longer  understood  in  the  original  sense,  that 
Abraham  by  his  prosperity  should  be  an  example  of  a  blessed 
man,  to  be  pointed  out  in  blessing  others ;  the  words  were 
given  the  higher  meaning  that  Abraham  with  his  descendants 
should  become  a  source  of  blessing  for  mankind  through  his 
teachings  and  his  conduct,  so  that  all  the  families  of  men 
should  attain  blessing  and  salvation  by  following  his  doctrine 
and  example.  Thus  the  idea  of  the  Jewish  mission  was  con- 
nected with  Abraham,  the  "  father  of  a  multitude  of  nations,"  * 
and  this  was  later  on  adopted  by  Paul  and  Mohammed  in 
establishing  the  Church  and  the  Mosque. 

8.  In  contradistincticm,  then,  to  the  political  concept  of 
the  kingdom  of  God,  which  Ezekiel  still  hojied  to  see  estab- 
lished by  the  exercise  of  external  power,'  the  idea  assumed 
now  a  purely  spiritual  meaning.  This  kinj^dom  of  God  is 
accepted  by  the  pious  Jew  every  morning  through  his  con- 
fession of  the  divine  Unity  in  the  Shema.  Abraham  had 
anticipated  this,  say  the  rabbis,  when  he  swore  by  the  God 
of  heaven  and  earth,  and  so  also  had  Israel  in  accepting  the 
Torahat  Sinai  and  at  the  Red  Sea.«  In  fact,  the  kingdom  of 
God  began,  we  are  told,  with  the  first  man,  since,  when  he 
adored  God  freely  as  King  of  the  world,  every  living  creature 
acknowledged  Him  also.  But  only  when  Israel  as  a  people 
proclaimed  God's  dominion  at  the  Red  Sea,  was  the  throne 

>Gen.  R.  XXXIX,  21. 

'  Sifre  Deut.  313,  with  rcf.  to  (icn.  XXIV',  3. 

'See  Dillmann's  Comm.   to  Gen    XII,  2;  XXII,  18;  and  Kuenen:  The 
Prophets  and  Prophecy,  373.  45/-  ,      , 

*  Gen.  XVII.  s-  '  Ezek .  XX,  a.  *  Sifre,  1.  c. 

z 


:..r-fl8iiiK3(aEi':*'''Tr 


338 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


','  >  *.  I 


»1 
it  I 


.  f 


If 


Hi 


V. 


1) 
I 


11  i: 

1  r 


of  God  and  His  kingdom  on  earth  established  for  eternity.* 
And  when  Kzckicl  says:    "With  a  mighty  hand  will  I  be 
King  over  you,"  they  explain  this  to  mean  that  the  people 
chosen  as  the  servant  of  tiod  will  be  continually  constrained 
anew  by  the  prophets  to  recognize  His  kingdom.'    Yea,  the 
closing  words  of  the  Song  at  the  Red  Sea,  "The  Lord  shall 
reign  for  ever  and  ever  "  were  taken  to  imply  that  all  the 
nations  wtmld  in  the  eml  recogni/x-  only  Israel's  One  God  as 
King  of  the  worl.l.^    As  a  matter  i.f  fact,  the  rabbinical  view 
is  that  every  |)roselytc,  in  "taking  upon  himself  the  yoke 
of   the   sovereignty   of   God."   enters   that   divine   Kingdom 
which  at  the  end  of  time  will  embrace  all  men  and  nations.* 
In  the  book  of  'rol)it  and  the  Sibylline  Oracles  also  we  find 
this  universalistic  conception  of  the  Messianic  age  expressed."^ 
Q.   Accordingly,  proselytism  found  open  and  solemn  recog- 
nition both  before  and  after  the  time  of  the  Maccabees,  as 
we  see  in   the   Psalms,  —  especially   those  which  speak  of 
proselytes  in  the  term,  "they  that  fear  the  Lord."  •  and  also 
in  the  ancient  synagogal  liturgy,  where  the  "proselytes  of 
righteousness"   are   especially  mentioned.^    The    school   of 
Hillel    followed    precisely    this    course.     Matters    changed, 
however,  under  the  Roman  dominion,  which  was  contrasted 
to  the  dominion  of  God  especially  from  the  time  of  Herod, 
when  the  belief  became  current  that  "only  when  the  one  is 
destroyed,   will   the   other   arise."*     Particularly   after  the 
Christian  Church  had  become  identified  with  Rome,  all  mis- 
sionary endeavors  by  the   Jews  were  considered  dangerous 
and  were  therefore  discouraged  as  much  as  possible.     In  their 

>  p.  I).  R.  i:i.  XI;   Mek.  Vithro  6;   Lev.  K.  II,  4- 

KSifra  Ikhukkolhai  VIII  with  rcf.  to  Kzek.  XX,  a;  Sanh.  105  a. 

3  Mck.  Ikshullah  X,  p.  5--  *  Ta"l>-  Lek  leka  6. 

»  Tobit  XIII,  i-i  I  ;   Sibyll.  Ill,  47.  7f>  b. 

«  Ps.  CXVII ;  CXVIII,  4-     Stx-  chaptir  LVI. 

'  Singer's  Praycrh.,  4S. 

•  Mck.  Amalek  at  close;  Cant.  k.  II,  .:«,  IV  Ezra  VI,  9-10. 


'^s  ..t-t.<-'«'^siirsH«an:  wz^sTA'^wryt '"!ii'WKiaBf;>?'A^^^  iSa;: 


■Jtiu-- 


iTi-^.r'Jii; 


'XS,- 


KINGDOM  OF  OOD  AND  THE  MISSION  OF  ISRAEL     339 

place  arose  the  hope  for  a  miraculous  intervention  of  God. 
In  Helleni>lir  cinles  the  Messiah  was  believed  to  be  the  future 
founder  of  the  kinn(i«>m  tif  (hmI.'  which  assumed  more  and 
more  of  an  other-worldly  nature,  such  as  the  Church  developed 
for  it  later  on. 

10.  The  more  the  har.-.h  oppression  of  tht-  times  forced  the 
Jew  to  isohitc  himself  an<l  to  spen«l  his  life  in  studying  and 
practicing  the  law.  -  whii  h  was  tantamount  lo  "phuing 
himself  under  the  kingdom  of  tiod,"  -  the  more  he  lost  sight 
of  his  sublime  mis>ion  for  the  world  at  large.  Only  individual 
thinkers,  such  as  Jiluida  ha  I.evi  and  Maimonides,  kept  a 
vision  of  the  wo.ldnii-sion  of  Israel,  when  they  calle<l  Jesus 
and  Mohammed,  as  founders  of  Christianity  and  Islam,  mes- 
sengers of  (itxl  to  the  idolatrous  nations,  divinely  a|)pointed 
to  bring  them  nearer  to  Israel's  truth,''  or  when  they  pointed 
forward  to  the  time  when  all  peoples  will  recogni/.e  in  the 
truth  their  comm«)n  mother  and  in  God  the  Father  of  all 
mankind.'*  A  most  instructive  Midrash  on  Zechariah  IX,  y 
gives  the  keynote  of  this  belief.  '"  \t  that  tiini-  God  as  the 
King  of  Zion  will  speak  to  the  right,  ous  of  all  times,  and  say 
to  them,  'Dear  as  the  words  of  My  teaching  are  to  Me.  yet 
have  ye  erred  in  that  ye  have  followed  only  My  Torah.  and 
have  not  waited  for  My  world-kingdom.  I  swear  to  you  that 
I  shall  remember  for  good  him  who  has  waited  for  My  kingdom, 
as  it  is  said.  Wait  ye  for  Me  until  the  day  that  I  rise  up  as  a 
witness.'"  * 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  owing  lo  the  sad  consequences 
of  the  missionary  endeavors  of  the  Church  that  the  idea  of 
the  mission  of  Judaism  was  given  a  dirferent  direction.  Not 
conversion,  but  conviction  by  teaching  and  example,  is  the 

»  B.  Wisdom  V,  16;   Sihyll.  Ill,  76  ii. 

*Sifni  Kcdoshim  at  c]^>^t■;   Sifrc  I)tut.  323. 

*Cnzari  IV,  2i\   Maim.  //.  .\filiikiiii  XI,  4. 

*  Maim. ;  Commentary  to  Kduyoih  at  close. 

5  Pes.  R.  XXXIV,  p.  15.4  rcf.  tj  Zei,!:.  Ill,  8.    See  Friedman'i  note. 


-««&»iSF4-r..V  Vl'<Cr^'fli6ui- 


*^asa]m'.'  ^'^KvasMg^BsmmjiJimuMaiKSJiscT 


340 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


:;fi| 
;  lit' 


!  »: 


hiU. 


historic  task  of  Judaism,  whose  maxim  is  cxi)rcssed  in  the 
verse  of  Zee  hariah,  "  Not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  My 
spirit,  saith  the  Lt)rd  of  hosts."  '     It  is  not  the  creed,  but 
the  deed,   which   tells.     Not    the  confession,  but   conduct, 
with  the  moral  principles  which  govern  it,  counts.     Such  a 
view  is  implied  in  the  well-known  teaching  of  Joshua  ben 
Hananiah,  "The  righteous  of  all  nations  will  have  a  share 
in   the  world  of  eternal  bliss." '    Judaism  does  not  deny 
salvation  to  those  professing  other  religions,  which  would 
tend  to  undermine  the  foundation  of  their  spiritual  life.   Stand- 
ing ujwn  the  high  watchtower  of  time,  it  rather  strives  ever 
to  clarify  and  strengthen  the  universal  longing  for  truth 
and  righteousness  which  lies  at  the  heart  of  all  religion,  and 
is  thus  to  become  a  bond  of  union,  an  all-illuminating  light 
for  the  world.    To  quote  the  beautiful  words  of  Leopold 
Stein  in  his  Schrijt  dcs  Lebens:^   "Judaism,  while  recognizing 
the  historic  justification  of  all  systems  of  thought  and  faith, 
does  not  cherish  the  ambition  to  become  the  Church  Universal 
in  the  usual  sense  of  the  term,  but  aims  rather  to  be  the  focus, 
or  mirror,  of   religious  unity  for  all  the  rest.    'The  people 
from  of  old,'  as  the  prophet  called  them,  are  to  accompany 
mankind  in  its  progress  through  the  ages  and  the  continents, 
until  it  reaches  the  goal  of  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  the 
•new  heaven  and  new  earth'  of  the  prophetic  vision."*    The 
thought  of  the  Jewish  mission  is  most  adequately  expressed 
in  the  Neilah  service  of  the  Union  Prayer  Book,  based  upon 
the  Einhorn  Prayerbook,  which  reads  as  follows:^  "Endow 
us,  our  Guardian,  with  strength  and  patience  for  our  holy  mis- 
sion.   Grant  that  all  the  children  of  Thy  people  may  recognize 
the  goal  of  our  changeful  career,  so  that  they  may  exemplify 
by  their  zeal  and  love  for  mankind  the  truth  of  Israel's  watch- 
word :  One  humanity  on  earth,  even  as  there  is  but  One  God 

«  Zech.  IV,  6.  «  Tos.  Sanh.  XIII,  2.  »  P.  374-378. 

« Isa.  LXVI,  22.  '  Part  II,  p.  332. 


msc»n' 


•JP^rifl'-'V" 


"■r.iaf-v 


KINGDOM  OF  GOD  AND  THE  MISSION  OF  ISRAEL     341 

in  heaven.  Enlighten  all  that  call  themselves  by  Thy  name 
with  the  knowledge  that  the  sanduary  of  wood  and  stone, 
which  erst  crowned  /ion's  hill,  was  hut  a  gate  through  which 
Israel  should  step  out  into  the  world,  to  reconcile  all  mankind 
unto  Thee!" 


CHAPTKR   L 


t 


TlIK    PkIKST  PKOIM.K    AND    ITS    L.\W    OF    UOM>fESS 

I.  The  (hcikered,  stormy,  and  yot  triumphant  marh  of 
the  Jrwislj  people  through  the  aj^es  remains  the  great  enigma 
of  hi^t.)ry  for  all  those  wh«i  do  not  believe  in  a  divine  ()lan  of 
salvation  to  be  consummated  through  I>ra( !.  The  iileu  of 
Israel's  mis^^ion  alone  throws  li;4ht  on  its  law  and  its  destiny. 
Even  before  God  had  revelled  to  the  people  at  Mt.  Sinai 
the  Ten  Commandments,  the  foundation  of  all  religion  and 
morality,  and  there  (oneluded  with  them  a  tovenant  for  all 
time,  He  si>«)kc :  "  Ve  shall  be  unto  Me  a  kingdom  of  priests 
and  a  holy  nation."  thus  consecrating  them  to  be  a  priest- 
people  amniig  the  nati(»ns.  and  enjoining  them  to  a  life  of 
especial  holiness.  Possensiii;.'  as  a  heritage  from  the  Patriarchs 
the  gonn  of  a  higher  religious  consciousness,  in  distinction 
from  all  t)ther  peoples,  they  were  to  make  the  (ultivatitm, 
development,  and  promotion  of  the  highest  religious  truth 
their  life-task,  and  thus  to  become  the  people  of  Clod.  At 
first  they  were  to  establi^i  in  the  Holy  Land  a  theocratic 
government,  a  St.ite  in  which  (lod  alone  was  the  Ruler,  while 
they  lived  in  priestly  isolation  from  all  the  nations  around. 
Thus  they  prepared  themselves  for  the  tinu-  when,  scattered 
over  all  the  earth,  they  mii^ht  again  work  as  the  priest-people 
through  the  ages  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  universal  kingdom 
of  God.  This  was  Israel's  destiny  from  the  very  first,  as  ex- 
pressed by  the  great  seer  of  the  Exile  when  he  beheld  Israel 
wandering  forth  among  the  nations,  "  Ye  shall  be  named  the 

342 


TIIF,    FRIKST  rKOn.F   AND    ITS   1„\W   OF   IIOI.IVKSS     ^ 

prifstH  of  the  L.r.l ,   men  shall  ciill  >'«u  the  mini^lcr*  of  our 

ChhI.'  ' 

.'     AmoriK  .ill  rtli«i.»n-i  tlu-  priest  U  i<»nM<U'ml  cs|r'(  iaily 
hilly  as  tin-  nu  dMior  hftwiTti  (mmI  ami  man.  and  in  hi>.  apptar 
anif  as  will    i-  in  U'\>  m<Mlf  of  lifi-  lu-  mu^t  oljMTVf  -pti  iai 
forms  of  purit>   an.l  ho|ints>      lli-  alonr  may  ap|)roai  h  llu- 
(loilhoa«l,  a-MiTlain  its  will,  anti  administer  tlu-  saifilii  iakull 
in   the  samtuary.     He   mu^t    r»pr<>enl    the   Divinity  in  its 
relation  to  the  |H-ople.  .inlHxIy  it  in  his  outward  life,  enjoy 
nothing  wliith  it  al»hors,  and  toiu  li  nothing  whi.  h  eouM  render 
him  impur.       These  priestly  rules  exi>t  amonn  all  the  nations 
of  antiquity  in   -lrikin«  similarity,  and  indi«  ate  a  common 
or  4in  in  the  prehistoric  |H'rio»l.  during  whieh  the  entire  cult 
developed  through  a  prie >'ly  taste,  h.^imdnj?  with  simple, 
primitive  (i>'«eplions  and  tran-'mitted  in  ever  more  elalwirale 
form  from  i.ither  to  s.)n.     It  Kois  without  sayintr  that  the 
priests  of  the  (.riijinal   Hebrew   race,   whirh   miK'r  ite<l   from 
Babylon   >.  retained   the  ancient  eustoms  and   rules.     They 
nmst  also  have  adopted  many  other  thin;4^  from  iui«hborinK 
peoples.     Uurinji;  the  entire  period  of  the  lir>t   iin)[)le.  the 
priests    -despite    all    proi)hetii:    warnings       firrferred    the 
heathen  cull  with  its  vainglorious  pomp  t<.  the  simple  worship 
of  the  patriarch. d  times.     As  ever>  where  eUc  the  prieslhiHMJ 
of  Israel,  and  later  of  Juda;a  as  well,  thought  only  of  its  own 
interests,  of  the  retention  of  it>  anrient  prerit-vUives,  unmind- 
ful of  tht  higher  calling  to  which  it  had  been  chosen,  to  serve 
the  God     .f   truth   and   justice,   to  exemj)lify   true  holiness, 
to  stand  for  moral  rather  than  ceremonial  purity.     Yet  the 
sacertiotal    institutions   were    indispensable   so   long    as   the 
people  i   -luired  a  sanctuary  where  the  Deity  should  dwell, 
and  where  tli^   sacrificial  cult  .should  be  administered.     Kyery 
trespass  by  a  layman  on  the  sani  tuary  reserved  for  the  priests 
was  considered  sacrilege  and  called  for  divine  punishment. 

« I»a.  LXI,  6. 


.^kmsL:-s^m:^iJT 


M4 


jr.wisii  iiif.()1.(k;y 


..  ! 


lyt.  > 


It  vviis  thuH  netTHHiry  tiMlifjHMi  thr  jMi|nil;ir  n-ition  of  hoHncM 
;iml  of  ihe  nviTtntr  <lm-  tin*  >  itn  tu.iry,  ln'fitri'  ihi-st-  louht  l>c 
I'levuti'd  irui»  tin-  rcaim  i»(  spirilu.ility  aii<l  morality.  The 
prU'sth<MH|  hat!  l«i  In-  won  for  ihc  strvUci  f  tlu-  loftui  iiliKtou-* 
idf.i^,   o  that  it  nui,'lil  gradually  «-ilu«  \W  llu-  |  oopic  in  Krr.cral 


for  iu  ^ul)lii'ir  pri.-^tlv  rni<*>ion.     ThlH  connpiion  ura't 


rlicH 
hotU  the  Mo^.ii(    aw  \\v\  itn  labMrara!  intrrpn-taliou 

\.  'rhrou;?h  Hibliral  ;in«l  jui.t -Biblical  literature  and  his- 
tory tluTO  rim-  a  twofold  lendciuv,  oiu'  an'ivn  iT<l<it  il 
emanating  from  the  prophets  and  later  the  Ha^dear  . 
Pharisees,  the  other  .i  medi.  'inK  tendmiy.  I  ivorahl  '  • 
the  priestho«Ml.  The  rituali-tie  piety  of  the  pric -il .  "  ^ 
hillerly  assailed  by  the  prophets  as  lu-inn  Nul)Versive  uf  u'l 
mor  ilily,  and  later  <-n  the  Saddueoan  hii'  irehy  al;.o  con- 
stitutnl  a  threat  to  the  moral  and  s'>iritual  wilfare  of  the 
people.  Before  even  »lie  revelation  at  Sinai  was  t(,  take 
place,  we  read  thai  vvarninv;  was  ^iven  to  the  priests  "not 
to  break  through"  an<l  stand  above  the  people  ' 

On  the  other  hand,  the  law  demands  of  the  Auroniles  r. 
peculiar  degree  (tf  holiness,  since  "they  olTer  the  bread  of  th.eir 
tJod  u|H)n  the  altar."'  Their  blood  must  1m-  kept  pure  by 
the  avoidance  of  improfMT  marriages.  Kverything  unc'tan 
or  polluting  must  be  kept  far  from  them.''  The  law,  folio,  - 
ing  a  tradition  which  probably  arose  in  ancient  Babylon, 
prescribed  minutely  their  mtxle  of  adniissii>n  into  th  ■  divine 
stTvice,  their  vestments  anti  their  conditions  of  life,  the  ritual 
of  sacrifice  and  of  purity;  and  every  violation  of  these  laws, 
every  trespass  by  a  layman,  w.is  declarc«l  to  be  punishable 
with  cleath.*  The  sanctuary  contains  no  room  for  the  nation 
of  priests;  no  layman  durst  venture  to  cross  its  threshold. 
I'Aen  in  the  legal  system  of  the  rabl.s  the  ancient  rights  iuu! 
privileges  of  the  priesthood,  dating  from  the  time  when  they 


1  r.    viv    ..  f 
•  Uv.  VIII,  i,  8. 


Lev.  xxr.  c.  xxir  t 

•Num.  XVIII,  7. 


Tiir  I  KiK.rr  r'H)f'i  K  and  \\s  law  m  m<»i.inf.ss     ^5 

iMMM-^snl   n>  proptTty.   ri-rnainc*!    inviolal*-,   auii    iht  ir   prr- 
("♦Unif  in  rvrrylhii'U  wa^  umli^putnl  ' 

The*  v;larin>^  ii>nlra«it  iM'twi-t-n  ihr  itU.i  of  .1  uni'  ir^^al  .trv-^t 
IkmmI  ol  Ihf  p-upU'  airl  ihf  in-^iiiulion  of  tlir  Aarnniir^  i'. 
fxi>lain«l  hy  a  ilrriw  r  in^inht  into  lii'>for\ .      T^m    muk-^n    >I 
till-  tff.>rtr»aliuit  vjixlt  r  Jo>,iah  un  thi-  l>a^i^  ai  thi-  Ihutiruriumu 

'     rtsti<l  in  the  last  analysin  on  tin-  fa«  t  that  thi   pri.-.ts 

•     •  ^u»u^v'  ol  /'ailok  at  JtTUi.iKm  wire  |)lati<l  in  thi-  s,  r\ii«' 
..  ill    hijfhiT  prophcti.   tcaihinjj  h\  \mnn  nmhrnl  thr  v.u.inl 
.1        xiivitor^,  anil  hitir,  In  toiijuniiion   wi'h  thf  L«viti^. 
I'u    laihirn  of  the  Law,  as  it  WiM  priM-ntrd  in  thi  lHM>k  of  the 
.1..    of   Moses    soon  afterwanl  (omplile*!       The  pne.thiMKl. 
I  ,)rivef|  of  fverylhinj?  that  nn'«ht  remind  one  ot  in-  forinr 
I.   ,latry  ami  heathenish  praetinx,  'vas,  in  i's  pur.r  iju\  holier 
...raiter.   to  kaif   the  priest  people  to  true  tn  -  il  holiness 
through  its  (onneilion  with  the  samtuary  ano   its  aniiriit 
cult.     Still  tlv  impulse  for  the  moral  rehinh  of  thi-  nation, 
for   ihe  establishment  of  a   priest  people,   »ii<l   not   iinanatc 
from  the  Temple  priesthoiwl,  n<  r  even  from  tlie  saereij  soil  i>f 
Palestine,  but  frotn  the  Synau<>nue.  whieh  be^an  in  the  F.xi'e. 
umler  the  intluence  of  the  prophetii   \vt)r(l  ami  the  L.vitieul 
M>nR,  in  the  form  of  public  worship  by  the  e on « relation  ol 
the  pious.      Here  aro.^e  a  generation  of  ;,M)i!ly  men,  a  eia?;s  of 
singularly  (ie.'«)Ut  ones,  living  in  priestly  holiness,  who  ii-ns**- 
crateil  l';  ir  !i\«  i  to  the  praeliee  of  the  law.  aii:  whom  (ho 
eXile  scej  'ad  desipiafed  a  -  the  true  israe',  thi-  Mfvant  of  the 
Lon',  and  these  formed  the  inu  lens  of  the  reneweil  1^.1.1. 

4,  That  whieh  the  prophet  K/ekiel  had  attempted  iu  hb 
pro|M)sed  eonstiiution  '  vvas  aiomplishr  I  in  ,1  lar  more  thor- 
ough manner  by  the  Holiiie-.s  Code,  whieh  eman  ile<'  lrv,ni 
hi:.  «hooI  and  fjeeame  the  eentril  porti.>n  ot  the  Mosaie 
lxM)ks,  and  by  the  so-called  li.slly  Code,  whieh  followeci 
later.     The  objeet  was  to  brinn  ai)out  the  s:inetii:ealion  of 

'  M.  K   jH  b.  '  I'-zc'i-  Xli-XLViil. 


m 


t 


f.f,;. 

In?  . 

1    .:  ( 


^1         h.       I 

^     ill 


■  '  t 


-.  H 


ti 


346 


JKWISH  THEOLOGY 


the  entire  people  upon  the  holy  soil  of  the  national  land, 
through  institutions  embwlying  the  ideal  of  the  holiness  of 
God  in  the  life  and  cult  of  the  people.  Circumcision,  idealized 
by  the  prophetic  author  of  Deuteronomy,'  was  to  be  made  the 
sign  of  the  covenant  to  mark  as  holv  the  progeny  of  Abraham  ;  * 
strict  laws  of  marriage  were  to  put  an  end  to  all  heathenish 
unchastity ;  the  Sabbath  rest  was  to  consecrate  the  lal)ors 
of  the  week,  the  Sabbatical  month  and  year  the  produce  of 
the  soil.'  The  prohibition  of  unclean  foods,  heretofore  re- 
served, as  among  other  nations,  for  the  priests  and  other  con- 
secrated persons,  was  now  applied  to  the  whole  community 
in  order  that  Israel  should  learn  "to  set  itself  apart  from  all 
other  nations  as  a  holy  people."  *  Kven  their  apparel  was  to 
proclaim  the  priestly  holiness  of  the  people  by  a  blue  fringe 
at  the  border  of  the  garments.' 

Whereas  from  the  time  of  K/.ra  to  Simon  the  Just  priestly 
rulers  endeavored  to  i)r(>m()le  the  work  of  educating  the 
people  for  holiness,  the  pious  men  from  among  the  people 
made  still  gre;:ler  elTorts  to  assert  the  claim  of  holiness  for 
the  entire  Jewish  i)eopIe  as  a  priest-nation.'  The  repasts 
of  these  pious  fellowshij^s  should  be  in  no  way  inferior  in 
sanctity  to  those  of  the  priests  in  the  Temple.  New  cere- 
monies of  sanctilication  were  to  open  and  close  the  Sabbaths 
and  festivals.  Symbols  of  priestly  consecration  should  adorn 
forohc.' I  and  arm  in  the  form  of  ihe  phylacteries  (tcjillin), 
and  should  be  placed  at  the  entrance  of  ever>'  house  in  the 
so-called  mczuzzah.  "God  has  given  unto  all  an  heritage  (the 
Torah),  the  kingdom,  the  priesthood,  and  the  sanctuary  "  ^  — 
this  became  the  leiimolij  for  the  I'harisaic  school,  who  con- 
stantly enlarged  the  domain  of  piety  so  that  it  should  include 

'  Deut.  .\',  16.     Comi).  Jer.  I.\,  24. 

*()vn  XVII,  0.  M.cv  XXV,  1-21. 

«l)(ut.  XI\'.  2-11;    I.«\    XI.     C.mp.  i;/(k    Xl.IV,  ji,.in(i  Ju(1k   XJII,  4. 

»  Num.  XV,  40.  «  See  J.  i:.,  art.  rharisees.  '  II  Matt.  II,  17. 


THK    PRIF.ST  TKOPLE   AND   ITS    LAW   Ol     HOLINESS     347 


I 

■ 


the  whole  of  life.  Whoever  did  not  lulotiK  to  this  circle  of 
the  pious  was  regarded  with  scorn  as  one  of  the  lower  class 
{am  lui-arelz). 

5.   The  chief  effort  of  the  pioti-^.  the  founders  of  the  Judaism 
of  the  Synaj^ojiue.  was  to  keep  the  Jewish  people  from  the  de- 
moralizing influences  of  pagan  nature-wonhip,   represented 
first  by  Semitic  and  later  Ly  (ireek  culture.     The  leaders  of 
the  Pharisees  "built  a  fence  about  the  law"  '  extending  the 
prohibition  of  mingling  with  the  heathen  nations  so  as  also 
to  prohibit  eating  with  them  and  participating  in  their  feasts 
and  social  gatherings,  — not  ior  the  preservation  of  the  Jewish 
race  merely,  as  Christian  theologians  maintain,  but  for  the 
sake  of  keeping  its  inner  life  intact  and  pure.'-     "(iod  sur- 
rounded us  with  brazen  walls,  hed;^e<l  us  \n  with  laws  of  purity 
in  regard  to  food  and  drink  and  pliysiial  contact,  yea,  even 
to  that  which  we  see  and  hear,  in  order  that  we  should  be  pure 
in  body  and  soul,  free  from  ab^ur(l  beliefs,  not  polluted  by 
contact  with  others  or  through  assiuiation  with  the  wicked; 
for  most  of  the  peoples  defile  themNclves  with  their  se.xual 
practices,  and  whole  lands  j)r!(le  themselves  u|'.oii   it      But 
we  hold  ourselves  ah)of  from  all   this"    -so  ^jioke  Kleazar 
the  priest  to  King  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  according  to  the 
Letter  of  Aristeas.  thus  giving  expression  »o  the  sentiment 
most  deeply  rooted  in  the  souls  oi  the  pious  of  that  period.'' 
The\    strove  to  build  up  a  nation  of  whom   the  Tannaim 
could  say,  "'Whoever  possesses  no  sense  of  shame  and  chastity, 
of  him  it  is  certain  that  his  ancestors  did  not  stand  at  Sinai."  * 
Naturally   enough,    the   (Jreek    and    Roman    people   took 
offence  at  this  aloofness  and  sejiaration  from  every  contact 
with  the  outer  world,  and  explained  it  as  due  to  a  spirit  of 
hostility  to  mankind.     Kven  up  to  the  present  it  has  been  the 
lot  of  Jewry  and  Judaism  to  be  misunderstood  by  the  world 

2  See  r.  rli 


'  AtHlth.  I,  I. 

'Aristeas  iJ9-«SJ- 


N'ld.  20  a. 


m^'''w^»daiijP''t.<m 


348 


JLVVISII  THKOLOGY 


W) 


i. 

i    1 


at  largf ,  to  be  the  object  of  either  its  hate  or  its  pity.  The 
worlu  disregards  the  magnificence  of  the  plan  by  which  an 
entire  people  were  to  be  reared  as  a  priest-nation,  as  citizens 
of  a  kingdom  of  God,  among  whom,  in  the  course  of  centuries, 
the  seed  of  prophetic  truth  was  to  germinate  and  sprout  forth 
for  the  salvation  of  humanity.  If,  in  complete  contrast  to 
heathen  immorality,  the  Jew  in  his  life,  his  thinking,  and  his 
will  was  governed  by  the  strictest  moral  discipline;  if.  in 
spite  of  the  most  cruel  persecutions  and  the  most  insidious 
temptations,  the  Jewi.sh  people  remained  steadfast  to  its 
pure  belief  in  God  and  its  traditional  standards  of  chastity, 
exhibiting  a  loyalty  which  amazed  the  nations  and  the  reli- 
gious sects  about,  but  was  neither  understood  nor  followed 
by  them,  this  was  mainly  due  to  the  hallowing  influences 
of  the  priestly  laws.  They  steeled  the  people  for  the  ful- 
fillment of  their  duty  and  shielded  them  against  all  hostile 
powers  both  within  and  without.  The  very  hutien  of  the 
law,  so  bitterly  denounced  by  Christianity  since  the  time 
of  Paul,  lent  Judaism  its  dignity  at  all  times,  protecting  it 
from  the  assaults  of  the  tempter ;  and  that  which  .seemed  to 
the  outsider  a  heavy  li)ad  was  to  the  Jew  a  source  of  pride 
in  the  consc  iousness  of  his  divine  election.' 

6.  But  most  significant  in  the  character  and  devel  ipment 
of  Judaism  is  the  fact  that  all  the  leading  ideas  and  motives 
which  emanated  from  the  priesthood  of  the  Jewish  people 
were  concentrated  in  one  ^inj^de  fcius,  the  lutlUmnng  of  the  name 
of  (lod.  Two  terms  e.xpressed  this  idea  in  both  a  negative 
and  a  ]i(i^itive  form,  the  warning  against  "  Ilillul  /hi  Slicm" 
—  profanation  of  the  name  of  (iod  —  and  the  duty  of  "  Kid- 
diisli  lui  Slum"  smctifii  ation  of  (iod's  name.  These 
exerted  a  ni.irvelous  power  in  cur')ing  the  passions  and  self- 
indul^renct'  of  tlie  Jew  and  in  sinirring  him  on  to  the  greatest 

'  See  Sclur liter,  V.',,,//.  v,  I,  .'jj  IT.  I  \l)r,ihamr  in  J.  Q.  K.  Xl,  62,  b  fl., 
and  Claude  .Montctiore,  J.  Q.  K.  XIII,  itii  --'17. 


'  Mi 

■  V 


■'"^  ^l 


THE   PRIEST  PEOPLE    AND    ITS    LAW    OF    HOLINESS      .U9 

possible  self-sacrifice  and  to  an  unparalleled  willingness    to 
undergo    suffering    and    martynlom    ft)r    the    cause.      Tluse 
terms  are  derived  fron.  the  Biblical  verse,  "  N'e  shall  not  pro- 
fane My  holy  name,  but  I  wili  he  hallowed  among  the  children 
of  Israel;    I  am  the  Lord  who  halloweth  you."  '      This  verse 
forms  the  concluding  sentence  of  the  precejjts  for  the   ;\aron- 
itic  priesthood  and  warns  them  as  the  guardians  of  the  sanc- 
tuaiy  to  do  nothing  which  might  in  the  po|)ular  tstimation 
degrade  them  or  the  divine  *  ause  intrusted  to  them.     When, 
however,  during  the  Maccalnan  wars,  the  little  band  of  the 
pious  proved  themselves  to  be  the  true  priesthood  in   their 
opposition  to  the  faithless  Aaronites.  olTering  their  v«ry  lives 
as  a  sacrifice  for  the  preservation  of  the  true  faith  in  (khI, 
the   Scriptural   word    recei\ed    a   new   and    liigher   meining. 
It  came  to  signify  the  obligation  of  the  entire  priest -i)eoi)le 
to  consecrate  the  name  of  God  by  the  >acrifue  of  their  lives, 
and  als»)  their  duty  to  guard  against  it>  profanation  by  any 
otTensive   act.     In   connection    with    thi^   Scriptural    i)assage 
the  sages  represent  (iod  a>  saying,  "I  have  brought  you  out 
of  Egypt  only  on  the  condition  that  \ou  are  read)  to  >ai  ritice 
your  lives,  if  need  be,  to  consecrate  My  name."  -     IVoin  that 
period  it  became  a  duty  and  evin  a  law  .     Judai-ni.  a-  Mai- 
munides  shows  in  his  Code,  for  each  person  in  111--  and  in  death 
to  bear  witness  to  His  (iod.'     "  Ve  are  My  wilnews,  >aith  the 
Lord,  and  I  am  (iod  "  *       and  witnesses  being  in  tiic  (ireek 
version   martyrs,  the  word   afterward   received   the  meaning 
of  "blood-witnesses."  — This  passage  of  tiie  j)rophet   is  com- 
mented *>n  by  Simeon  ben  Johai,  one  of  the  great    teachers 
who  sutTered   under   Hadrian's  persecution,   in   the   following 
words.  "If  ye  become  My  witnesses,  then  am  I  your  Lord, 
God  of  the  world  ;    but  if  ye  do  nut  wilne>-  to  Me,  I  cease  to 

'  Lev.  XXIJ,  .2.  -^Sifra  I'.mor.  IX. 

'  Yfsodf  h,i  l\i).ik  V.    Conip.  Lazarus;  lithtu,  2g,  184- 
♦Isa.  XLIU,  1-'. 


1^ 


^ 


3SO 


JEWISH  THEOLO(iY 


r 


■f  :  4 1  i  ! . ,  ■ 


be,  as  it  were,  the  Lord,  Ciixl  of  all  the  world."  '  That  is  to 
say,  it  is  the  martyrdom  oi  the  [)i»»us  which  glorilies  Ciod's 
name  before  all  the  wt)rl(l.  Or,  as  p\-lix  Perles  says  so  beau- 
tifully, "As  every  j^ood  and  noble  man  must  ever  bear  in 
mind  that  the  dij^nity  of  humanity  is  intrusted  to  his  hand, 
so  should  each  earnest  adhi-rent  of  tt.?  Jewish  faith  remember 
that  the  ^lory  of  (iod  is  intrusted  to  his  care."  ^  The  Jewish 
people  has  fulfilled  this  priestly  task  through  a  martynlom 
of  over  two  thousand  years  and  has  scornfully  resisted  every 
demand  to  abandon  its  faith  in  G(k1,  not  consenting  to  do 
so  even  in  appearance.  Surely  historians  or  philosophers 
who  can  ridicule  or  commiserate  such  resistance  betray  a 
hatred  which  blinds  their  sense  of  justice.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  it  was  the  consciousness  of  the  Jewish  people  of 
its  priestly  mis.sion  that  has  made  it  a  pattern  of  loyalty 
for  all  time. 

7.  Moreover,  the  fear  of  profaning  the  divine  name  became 
the  highest  incentive  to,  and  safeguard  of  the  morality  of  the 
Jew.  Every  misdeed  toward  a  non-Jew  is  considered  by  the 
teachers  of  Judaism  a  double  sin,  yea,  sometimes,  an  unpardon- 
able one,  because  it  gives  a  false  impression  of  the  moral 
standard  of  Judaism  and  infringes  upon  the  honor  of  Clod 
as  well  as  that  of  man.  The  disciples  of  Rabbi  Simeon  ben 
Shetach  once  bought  an  ass  for  him  from  an  Arab,  and  to  their 
joy  found  a  precious  stone  in  its  (X)llar.  "Did  the  seller 
know  ot  this  gem?"  asked  the  master.  On  being  answered 
in  the  negative,  he  called  out  angrily,  ''  Do  you  consider 
me  a  barbarian  ?  Return  the  Arab  his  precious  stone  im- 
merliately!"  And  when  the  heathen  reiei\ed  it  back,  he 
cried  out,  "Praiseil  be  the  God  of  Simeon  ben  Shetach!"' 
Thus  the  conscientious  Jew  honors  his  God  by  his  conduct, 
says  the  Talmud,  referring  to  this  and  many  similar  examples. 
Such  lessons  of  the  Jew's  responsibility  for  the  recognition 

'  Pesik.  102  b.  »  Perles,  I.  c  ,  68  f.  «  Ver.  B.  M.  II,  8  c. 


THF    PRII    T  VVjnPlK   AND   ITS   LAW   OF    HOLINESS     351 

of  the  hish  'u..ral  purity  of  his  relij^ion  have  ever  constituted 
a  high  ^>arrit  r  iirainst  immoral  acts. 

The  w(»f<i-,  H  >'•  1.<'1\ .  for  I  the  Lord  your  God  am  holy" 
form  significant ly  the  introduction  to  the  chapter  on  the 
love  of  man.  tlu  nineteenth  chapter  of  Leviticus,  placed  at 
the  very  centrr  >/!  the  •■ntire  I'riestly  Code.  'Vour  self- 
sanctitiiation  siinctifie-  M'  a*  it  were."  says  (iod  to  Israel, 
according  to  the  interpr*  ..fior  ..i  this  verse  by  the  sages.' 
In  contrast  to  heatheri.!<.n,  *'hi«  h  deities  nature  with  its 
appeal  to  the  sense-.  Judai-ni  'n..-  lus  that  holiness  i:.  a  moral 
quality,  as  it  means  the  curbini,'  of  the  senses.  .\nd  in  order 
to  prevent  Israel,  the  hearer  ot  this  ideal  of  holiness,  from 
sinking;  into  the  mire  of  h«albrn  wantonness  and  lust,  the 
separation  of  the  Jew  from  lii  heathen  world,  whither  in 
his  domestic  or  soci.d  lile,  u.i-  i  necessity  and  became  the 
rule  and  ma.xim  of  his  lile  i.r  that  period.  .Ml  the  many 
prohibitions  and  commands  hul  for  their  object  the  puri- 
tication  of  the  peoi»le  in  order  to  render  the  highest  moral 
purity  a  hereditary  virtue  among  them,  acconling  to  the 
rabbis. - 

8.  It  is  true  that  the  accumulation  of  "law  upon  law.  pro- 
hibition upon  prohibition"  by  the  r.ibbi-  had  eventually  the 
same  injurious  effect  which  it  had  exertetl  upon  the  priests 
in  the  Temple.  The  formal  law.  'the  prectpts  learned  by 
rote.  '  became  the  imi)ortaiit  fai  tor.  while  their  purpose 
was  lost  to  sight.  The  shell  smothered  the  kernel,  and 
blind  obedience  to  the  letter  ol  the  law  <amo  to  be  regarded 
as  true  piety.  It  cannot  be  drnied  that  adherence  to  the  mere 
form,  which  was  transmitted  from  the  Teniijle  practice  to  the 
legalism  of  the  Pharisees  and  the  later  rabbinic  schools  with 
their  casuistry,  impaired  and  tarnished  the  lofty  prophetic 
ideal  of  holiness.  It  almost  seems  as  if  the  clarion  notes  of 
such  sublime  passages  as  that  of  the  F^.^.il'^^.ist, 

'  Sijra  Kcdoshini  i,  '  M'ik.  2J  b. 


IK.. 
'11 


>■■.  J:-  \ 


'Ut  . 


X. 

-  >    . 

i    ;' 

i,  •  •'-* 


!■! 


!   I     , 

i !  ';■ 


352 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


"Wlto  »haU  ascend  into  the  mountain  of  the  Lord, 
And  who  »hall  stand  in  His  holy  place? 
He  that  hath  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart ; 
Who  hath  not  taken  My  name  in  vain,  and  hath  not  sworn  deceitfully,"  * 

no  longer  found  its  full  resonance  in  the  heart  of  Judaism.  In 
the  practice  of  external  acts  of  piety  religion  became  petrified 
an<l  the  spirit  t(H)k  flight.  That  which  is  of  secondary  impor- 
tance became  of  primary  consideration.  This  is  the  funda- 
mental error  into  which  the  practice  and  the  development  of 
the  L;iw  in  Judaism  lapsed,  and  to  which  no  careful  observer 
can  or  liares  close  his  eyes.  Undoubtedly  the  Law,  as  it 
embraced  the  whole  of  life  in  its  jM)wer,  sharpened  the  Jewish 
sense  of  duty,  and  served  the  Jew  as  an  iron  wall  of  defense 
against  temptations,  alwrrations,  and  enticements  of  the  cen- 
turies. As  scnm  as  the  modern  Jew.  however,  undertook  to 
free  himself  from  the  tutelage  of  a  blind  acceptance  of  author- 
ity and  inquired  after  the  purpose  of  all  the  restrictions  which 
the  Law  laiil  upon  him.  his  ancient  loyalty  to  the  same  (  ollapsed 
and  the  pillars  of  Judaism  seemed  to  be  shaken.  Then  the 
leaders  of  Reform,  imbued  with  the  prophetic  spirit,  felt  it  to 
be  their  imperative  duty  to  seanh  out  the  fundamental  ideas 
of  the  priestly  law  of  ht>liness,  and,  a<'cordingly,  they  learned 
how  to  separate  the  kernel  from  the  shell.  In  opposition 
to  the  orth(Mlo.\  tendency  to  worship  the  letter,  they  insisted 
on  the  fad  that  Israel's  separation  from  the  world  -which 
it  is  ultimatily  to  win  for  the  divine  truth — cannot  itself 
be  its  end  and  aim.  and  that  blind  obedirrn  i  to  the  law 
does  not  constitute  true  jn'ety  Only  the  fundamental  idea, 
that  Israel  as  the  "  first -bom  "  amon<r  the  nations  has  been 
elet  ted  as  a  prie>t-peo|>le.  mu-^f  remain  our  imperishable 
truth,  a  truth  to  which  the  centuries  of  history  bear  witness 
by  showing  that  it  has  given  its  life  bli)od  as  a  ranst)m  for 
humanity,  and  is  ever  bringing  new  sacrifices  Un  its  cause. 

'Ps.  XXIV,  J  4    XV,  .3. 


'^^Jl^lj^-iitfi^: 


THE   PRIEST-PEOPLE  AND   ITS   LAW   OF   HOLINESS     353 

Only  because  it  has  kept  itself  distinct  as  a  priest-people 
among  the  nations  could  it  carry  out  its  great  task  in  history; 
and  only  if  it  remains  conscious  of  its  priestly  calling  and  there- 
fore maintains  itself  as  the  people  of  (Jod,  can  it  fulijll  its  mis- 
sion. Not  until  the  end  of  time,  when  all  of  CJod's  children 
will  have  entered  the  kingdom  of  (iod,  may  Israel,  the  high- 
priest  among  the  nations,  renounce  his  priesthood. 


a  A 


!,t 


■  if 

km 
iir 


H  , 


I 


:\ 


i  t 


CHAPTER  LI 
Israel,  the  Pkoplk  ok  the  Law,  and  its  World  Mission 

I.  Judaism  (lilTiTs  from  all   the  ancli-nt   rcliRions  chiefly 
in  its  intruslitiK  its  truth  Id  the  whole  people  instead  of  a 
s|K-tial  priesthoiMl.    The  law  which  "Moses  commanded  us 
is  an   inheritance  of   the   Congregation   of  Jacob,"'   is  the 
Scriptural  lesson  impressed  up«)n  every  Jew  in  early  child- 
hood.    As  soon  as  the    Totah  passed  from  the  care  of  the 
priests  into  that  of  the  whole  nation,  the  |)e»»ple  of  the  hook 
became  the  prier^t  nation,  and  set  forth  to  comjuer  the  world 
by  its  religious  truth.     This  aim  was  expressed  by   all  the 
pn)phets  i)eginning  with  Moses,  who  said:    "Would  that  all 
the  Lord's  people  were  prophets,  that   the  L..rd    vould  put 
His  spirit  upon  them."  ■     The  prophetic  ideal  was  that  "  Ihcy 
>hall  all  know  Me  (tJod),  from  the  lea^t  ..f  them  unto  the 
greatest  of  tlum,"^  and  that  "all  thy  (Zion'>)  thihlren  shall 
be  taught  of  the  L<.rd."  *     After  the  people  came  to  realize 
that  the  Law  was  "tluir  wisdom  and  understanding  in  the 
.,ight  of  the  p<M.ples,'"  '  they  mkhi  fell  the  hope  that  one  day 
"U)e   i-,le>   shall   wait    I.t    His    teaching."*  and    contideiilly 
e.xpected   the    tinu-  whcsi  "many  [H'oples  shall   go  and  say. 
Come  ye.  and  Ul  u-  go  uj)  t(.  llu-  mountain  of  the  Lord,  to 
the  houM-  of  the  ('.■"!  of  Jacob;    and  He  will  teach  us  of  His 
ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  Hi^  paihs.  for  out  of  Zion  shall  go 
forth  the  law.  and  tlu'  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jeru^-alem.'^ 
Once  lihcrated  from  the  dominance  of  the  priesthood,  reli- 


'  Deut.  XX\!I'.  ; 

Isi   I.IV,  I  ; 
'Is.1.  II,  !.    MiLiii  I\     2. 


-    \     :  ::!        \l.     21). 

<■   iKUt.    1\,   ('. 

;S4 


»Jer.  XXXI.  34. 
•  ls.1.  XLII,  4. 


ISRAEL.  THK   PEOPLE  OF  HIE  LAW 


iss 


pinn  Iwcamc  the  instrument  of  universal  instruction,  the 
factor  of  general  spiritual  an<l  moral  advancement.  In 
addition  it  emiowed  humanity  with  an  educational  ideal, 
destined  to  regenerate  its  moral  life  far  more  deeply  than 
Greek  cuiture  touid  ever  do.  The  object  was  to  elevate  all 
classes  of  the  jnople  by  the  living  word  of  (icwl,  by  the  read- 
ing and  exfxmnditjg  of  the  Scripture  for  the  dissemination  of 
its  truth  among  llv  mass»'s. 

2.  Those  who  ditUK-  Judaism  as  a  religion  of  law  com- 
pletely misun<lerstan><  its  nature  and  iis  historic  forces. 
This  is  done  by  all  those  Christum  fhiologians  who  emieavor 
to  prt)ve  the  extraonlinary  assertion  of  the  a|H)stle  Paul  that 
the  Jewish  people  was  providentially  destined  to  prinluce 
the  Old  Testament  law  and  become  enmeshed  in  it.  like 
the  silkworm  in  its  c»)coon.  finally  to  dry  u[)  and  peri>h, 
leaving  its  prophelit  truth  for  the  Church.  This  fateful 
misconception  «)f  Judaism  is  based  u|M»n  a  faUe  interpretation 
of  the  word  Toralt.  which  denotes  moral  and  •^pirilual  instruc- 
tion as  often  as  law,  and  thus  includes  all  kinds  of  ri-lipous 
teaching  and  knowledge  together  with  its  primary  meaning, 
the  written  and  the  oral  cimIcs.'  In  fact,  in  jjosl  Biblical 
times  it  ct)m|)rised  the  entire  religion,  as  subject  of  both 
instruction  and  scientilic  investigation.  True,  law  is  funda- 
mental in  Jewish  history;  Israel  accepted  the  divine  cove- 
nant on  the  basis  of  the  Sinaitic  co<le;  the  reforms  of  King 
Josiah  w.'re  founded  on  the  Deuterotioniic  law;'-  and  the 
restoration  of  the  Judean  commonwealth  was  based  upon  the 
comi)lettd  Mosaic  code  broui,'ht  from  Babylon  by  lUnx  the 
Scribe''  This  book  of  l.ivv.  with  it>  further  development  and 
interpretation,  rcmaiiud  the  normative  factor  for  Judaism 
for  all  time.     Still,  frnm  th<-  very  Ijeginning  the  Law  of  the 

'  Sei-  (iui-<iomar.n     />k  .Indmilnim,  (>:  f  ,  J:itJ.  .ipohnittik,  nU;  Schcchlei : 
Studif^.  I.  iU  f.and  .l«/»(f/s,  1,  iiof 

'  II  Kin«s  XXII,  M  f  '  Nell.  VIII-X. 


,f  , 


t 


i''\-\ 


fi 


i 


.iS6 


JKWISH  TIIEOLOC.Y 


tt»v«,'nant  i<mt;un«l  a  tcrtain  i-lvmrnt  whii h  cli<<tinKuiHhc(l 
it  friju  !1  thf  priestly  ami  poliliral  hh\v»  of  unti<|iiitv.  Hc- 
•^idf  the  tr.nliiit»nal  juridiial  an«l  ritualisiit  .siatutcH,  whit h 
hrfray  a  M.iltN  Ionian  origin,  it  inntain-*  laws  ami  <l«»t  trine*  <•( 
kindness  toward  llu-  i><M»r  and  lulphns.  thr  iiu-my  and  the 
slave,  evtn  t<»vvard  thr  dumb  beast,  in  strikin«  eontrast  to 
the  spirit  ^,^  » ruelty  an<l  violeme  in  the  Hal)> Ionian  law.' 
In  the  nani'  of  the  all  seeinj?,  all  ruling  (i«Ml  it  appeaU  to  the 
sympathy  of  man.  1  hisr  exhortations  to  t«nd«rni-s>  ini  rease 
in  later  <«Hles  of  law  under  the  prophetit  inlluenec,  until 
tinally  the  rabbis  extended  them  as  far  as  |>o«.,ible  They 
hel<l  that  every  ne^linenie  whiih  leads  to  the  loss  of  life  or 
pntperly  f)y  the  neinhbur.  every  nej^lei  t  of  a  dome. tie  ani 
mal,  ivvn  every  av  t  of  deieil  by  whieh  one  attitiipts  to 
"steal"  the  pMxl  opinion  ot  one'>  fellow  men  is  a  violation 
of  the  law  ^  Henct  Kabl)i  Simlai,  tht-  llauk'nlisi,  said  that 
from  Ih  uinnin^  to  end  the  Law  is  but  a  system  of  teai  hing* 
of  human  l"ve.^  while  another  sim  tried  to  prove  from  the 
iHXiks  of  Mosc-,  that  (iod  implantefl  meny.  miMlesty.  and 
Ixnevohiue  in  the  soiiU  of  Israel  as  hereditary  virtues.* 
In  the  same  spirit  Kabbi  Meir  lesirilu-d  the  law  of  Israel  as 
the  law  of  humanity,  su|)[)ortin^?  his  statement  by  a  number 
of   biblical   passages.'' 

V  But,  as  lij^ht  b>  it^  verv  nature  illumines  its  surround- 
ings, .so  the  ro"-;!!!  in  the  ix>s>fv-.ion  of  the  Jewish  [)eople 
was  certain  to  beeome  the  li'^lit  of  mankind.  First  of  all, 
the  biKik  of  Law  itself  in>ist>  tliat  the  f.ither  shall  tea*  h  the 
word  of  (Iod  to  his  chililren,  usinn  many  si^ns  and  leremonies 
th.il  thev  may  metlitale  on  the  works  of  (icwl  antl  walk  in 

'  Sff  ('.'  nktl  l\r,iil  II.  Iial'\l<'niin;  J.  re  niias  :  M:>^r^  n  Hammurabi; 
II  .rininii  />.  G'^'t:  i'lhimmiiT.tl^':' -  ii.  Mums';  Cn'ori-c  <iihrn  P.  liisflzf 
Jliimmiirahi's;  I).  M  Muclltr:  I)  Ucniz  Uammuraf'i'  h  d.  musuiulu:  In  >elz- 
gebiii 

'.Set'  Chaptir  MX.  '  Sota  14  a. 

«  Vcr.  Kid.  IV,  1 ,  05  c.  *.Sifra  /Uiarc  Moth  ij. 


if  !' 


tfllf 


-*  *■ 


.TV 


iskAKL.  ntr   PKUi.i  ok  tiik  law 


,V>7 


the  path  of  virtue,  .md   thui   ihr  .livinr  tomnund-*  should 
Im?  'in  the  mouth  ;in«l  i»i  I  In   lu.irl  ..I  .ill  (.•  <lo  tlum  "  '     It 
war*  rnacle  imumlMnI  U[miii  llu  l>i«l>  prii-^t  or  kioK  to  n  iil  the 
Law  at  leant  orue  every  >even  yi.ir^  tu  (he  whole  |M.i|»le  as 
MnihleM  in  the  holy  tity  lor  the  .lututmi.il  ti^tival,       men, 
Wi.men.  rhiltlren,  an<l  the  nojuuriier-  in  the  Kales,       m.  that 
it    shoul.l     neonu    lb«ir    lotnmon    |>ro|Hrly  "      Ihi^    |)reee|>t 
prohahly   jrave   rise   to   the   triennial   ami    l.it«  r    tlu'   annu.il 
^v^tem  «if    lorah  rea<liM>:  on  the  S.ihliath      Hut  in  atldilion 
to  the  Imk)1.  of  J..IW  the  prophetii    words  of  ion  .  .I.ilion  were 
n  a«l  to  the  |m'o|»!i>.  a  iu«<loni  whii  h  oriKinaleil  ii\  the  Hahy 
Ionian  exile,  and  wa>  eontinueil  under  the  name  of  //.///./r.»// 
("tUsmissal"  of    the    (on>ireKation)  '      I'he  >eer    of    the  e\ile 
refers  to  these  |»roph«tii   vvor(U  of  tomfort  wliiih  were  offered 
to   the  |R'ople  on    the  Saliltalh   a-  well   a^  olli.r   fea^f-*   and 
fasts:    "Attend  unto  Me.  O  My  |)eople    and  «iv.'  e.ir  unto 
Me,  ()  My  nation,  for  instrut  tion  (I'orah)  sh.dl  ^o  forth  from 
Me,  and  My  ri^;ht  on  a  >udilen  for  a  li;;ht  of  lliv   pe.iple        ,   . 
Hearken  unto  Me,  ye  that   know  riKlileoii^i. -.  tin    p  opie 
in  whose  heart   i>  My  law.    fear  ye  not   tli.    liunt   of  men, 
neither   Ite   ye   .liNmayetl   at    their   revilini:>      Tor   tlu    moth 
shall  eat   them  up  like  a  K'arment.  and  the  \\"rm  sh.ill  c.it 
them   liki-  wool.    I.ut    My   favor  sh.ili   In-   j..r.v.r.   and    My 
salvation    unto   all  nener.itions,"  '     Mi»ved    by   ^m  h   stirrmn 
ideals.  Syn.iKo^ues  arose  in  Jewidi  M-tllenxnts  all  <iver  the 
Hlohe.  and  the  Imok  of   the   L.iw,  in   iI■^  vernarular  versions, 
(ireek  and  .\ramaie,  to^;ellur  with  the  words  oi  the  prophets, 
heeame  the  general  soune  of  inslriution.      In   the  words  of 
the  Psalms,  it  hetame  •the  ti'>tiin..ny  of  the  Kurd,  makinK 
wise   the  si?nple,"   "rejoicini;   the   he.irt,"   'enlik'hti  ninR   the 
eyes."    "more    to    he   desireil    th.in    fold"'     Nay   more,   the 

'Drut.  VI    r;   XI.  i.,;   XXX,  ii:    I"v    MH.) 

'  Dcut.  XXXI.  li,  '  Sec  l.ltx'^in    /•    /  ,  ..'   (/ ■'?  m/j  'm/.  1 74  f. 

«I»d.  LI,4,   7-8-  ''"    XIX,  7-'o 


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358 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


study  of  the  Law  1-ccamc  the  duty  of  every  man.  and  he  who 
failed  to  live  up  to  the  precepts  of  the  devotees  of  the  Law, 
the  Pharisean  fellowships,  was  scorned  as  belonging  to  the 
lower  class,  am  haarctz.     Every  morning  the  pious  Jew,  first 
thanking  God  for  the  light  of  day,  followed  this  up  by  thanking 
Him  for  the  Torah,  which  illumines  the  path  of  life.     "The 
welfare  of  society  rests  upt)n  the  study  of  the  Law,  divine 
service  and  organized  charity,"  was  a  saying  of  Simon  the 
Just,  a  high  priest  of  the  beginning  of  the  third  pre-Christian 
century.'     Thus  learning  and  teaching  became  leading  occu- 
pations for  the  Jew,  and  the  iwo  main  departments  of  Jewish 
literature,  correspondingly,  are  Torah  and  Talmud,  that  is, 
the  written   Law   and   its  exposition.     Indeed,  the  highest 
title  which  the  rabbis  could  find  for  Moses  was  simply  "  Moses 
our   Teacher."     Nay,   God    Himself    was    frequently  repre- 
sented as  a  venerable  Master,  teaching  the  Law  in  awful 
majesty.^ 

4.  Later  under  the  successive  influence  of  Babylonian  and 
Greek  culture,  the  wisdom  literature  was  added  to  the  Proph- 
ets and  the  Psalms,  giving  to  the  whole  Torah  a  universal 
scope,  like  that  claimed  for  Greek  philosophy.  The  Jewish 
love  of  learning  led  to  an  ever  greater  longing  for  truth  by 
adding  the  wisdom  of  other  cultured  nations  to  its  own  store 
of  knowledge  This  motive  for  universalism  became  all 
the  stronger,  as  the  faith  became  more  centered  In  the  sub- 
lime conception  of  God  as  Master  of  all  the  world.  As  the 
God  of  Israel  appeared  the  primal  source  of  all  truth,  so  the 
revealed  word  of  God  was  considered  the  very  embodiment 
of  divine  wisdom.^  In  fact,  the  men  of  hoary  antiquity  de- 
scribed in  the  opening  chapters  of  Genesis  were  actually 
credited  with  being  the  instructors  of  the  Greeks  and  other 

1  Aboth  1, 2. 

« Mek.  Beshallah  45  b,  note  by  Friedman ;  Yalkut  Yithro  286. 

'  B.  Slra  XXIV,  8-10;  comp.  Bousset,  1.  c,  136  f. 


<T<^-53reTr^l?ja»^jiR»f«Wr-j*reiviFV'^^ 


ISRAEL,  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE   LAW 


359 


nations.'    We  mid  a  strange  story  hy  a  pupil  of  Aris*otle 
that  the  great  sage  admired  a  Jew,  whom  hi'  happened  to 
meet,  as  both  wise  and  i)ious,  so  that  the  little  Jewish  nation 
was  often  considererl.  like  the  wise  men  of   India,  to  be  a 
sect  of  philosophers.-     Indeed,  Judaism  became  a  matter  of 
curiosity  to  the  pagan  world  on  account  of  the  Synagogue, 
which  attracted  them  as  a  unique  center  of  religious  devotion 
and  instruction,  and  especially  because  of  the  Bible,  which 
was  read  and  expounded  in  its  Greek  garb  from  Sabbath  to 
Sabbath.     The  Jewish  people  raised  themselves  to  be  a  nation 
of   thinkers,   and    largely    through   association   with    Greek 
thought.     For   example,    in    the    Greek   translation   of   the 
Scriptures    all    anthropomorphic    expressions    arc    avoided. 
As  the  personal  name  of  Israel's  God  of  the  covenant,  JHVH, 
was  replaced  by  the  name  Adonai,  "the  Lord,"^  the  univer- 
sality of  the  Jewish  God  became  still  more  evident.     Thus 
the  pagan  world  could  find  God  in  the  Scriptures  to  be  the 
living  God  who  dwells  in  the  heart  and  is  sought  by  all  man- 
kind.    The  Jew  became  the  herald  of  the  One  God  of  the 
universe,  his  Bible  a  book  of  universal  instruction.     Many 
of  the  heathen,  without  merging  themselves  into  the  com- 
munity of  the  covenant  people  and  without  accepting  all 
its  particularistic  customs,  rallied  around  its  central  stand- 
ard as  simple  theists.  "worshipers  of   God,"  or  "they  who 
fear  the  Lord,"  according  to  the  terminology  of  the  Psalms." 
5.   An   old   rabbinical   legend,   which   is   reflected   in   the 
New  Testament  miracle  of  Pentecost,  relates  that  the  Ten 
Words  of  Sinai  were  uttered  in  seventy  tongues  of  fire  t(»  reach 

>  See  Josephus:  Conl.  Apion.  U,  36  f.,  30 ;  -Vristobulus  in  Euscbius:  Prep. 
Ev.  XIII,  121,  413;  Ciizari,  I,  63  f. ;   II.  66;  comp.  Cassel,  1.  c.  ad  loc. 

«  Josephus,  1.  c,  I,  22  ;  Gutschmidt :  KUine  Schrifkn,  IV,  578 ;  Th.  Reinach : 
Textes  Relalifs  au  Judaism,  u-13. 

» J.  E.,  art.  Adonai. 

*Ps.  CXV,  Hi  CXVIII,  4;  comp.  Bernays:  Ce:.  Abh.,  II,  71;  Schuerer, 

I  c,  III,  124  1. 


liirll 


fc;^5jSff4i:'&*?tt'-«MiL*h:f>j*i!«'-' •'V&.'"«i*jai'Xiai  -  i-:k^  3F^S5sFJJtF^?<j 


•  f  t 


;  t. 


in 


ii'M 


360 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


the  known  seventy  nations  of  the  earth.'  We  are  told  that 
when  the  people  entered  Canaan,  the  words  of  the  Law  were 
engraved  in  seventy  languages  on  the  stones  of  the  altar  at 
Mount  Kbal.-'  That  is,  the  law  of  Sinai  was  intended  to 
provide  the  foundation  for  all  human  society.  One  Hag- 
gadist  even  asserts  that  the  heathen  nations  all  refused  to 
accept  the  Law,  and  if  L-irael  also  had  rejected  it,  the  world 
would  have  returned  to  chaos.'  Israel  was,  so  to  speak, 
forced  oy  divine  I'rovidence  to  accept  the  Law  on  behalf  of 
the  entire  race.  Hillel,  under  the  Romanized  reign  of  Herod, 
was  fully  conscious  of  this  world-mission  when  he  said : 
"Love  your  fellow  creatures  and  lead  them  to  the  study  of 
the  Law." ' 

6.  The  outlook  for  the  Jewish  people,  however,  became 
darker  and  darker  through  its  struggle  with  Rome.  The 
fanatical  Zealots  entirely  opposed  the  spreading  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Torah  among  those  who  did  not  belong  to  the 
household  of  Israel.''  Then  the  Church  sent  forth  her  mis- 
sionaries to  convert  the  pagan  world  by  constant  conces- 
sions to  its  polytheistic  views  and  practices.  The  seed 
sown  by  Hellenistic  Judaism  yielded  a  rich  harvest  for  the 
Church,  even  though  it  was  won  at  the  sacrifice  of  pure 
Jewish  monotheism.  The  Ten  Words  of  Sinai,  the  Mosaic 
laws  of  marriage,  the  poor  laws,  and  other  Biblical  statutes 
became  the  cornerstone  of  civilization,  but  in  a  difTerent 
guise ;  the  heritage  of  Judaism  was  transplanted  to  the 
Christian  and  Mohammedan  world  in  a  new  garb  and  under 
a  new  name.  Henceforth  the  Jew,  dispersed,  isolated,  and 
afflicted,  had  to  struggle  to  preserve  his  faith  ir  its  pristine 
purity.    The  very  danger  besetting  the  study  of  the  Law  during 

•  Shab.  88  b.;  Ex.  R.  V,  q;  Tanh.  Shemoth,  ed.  Buber,  22;  Midr.  Teh.  Ps. 
LXVIII,  6;   .Acts  II,  6;  Spitta  :  .■l/i(w/f/>;cvf/;/(7;/c,  27,  referrins  to  Philo  II,  295. 

2  Sifre  Deut.  XXXIII,  2 ;  XXVII,  8 ;  Sola  35  b.  '  Shab.,  88  a,  b. 

*  Aboth  I,  12.  »  J.  £.,  art.  Zealots. 


i;-.  I' 


'•  -.i' rficTfiv.^.  ik.j:'ji'Wiifwi'c#«i. 


ISRAKL,   THE   FEOI'LK  OF   TIIK   l.AW 


361 


the  Hadrianic  persecutions,  which  followed  the  Bar  Kochba 
revolt,  increased  h«s  zeal  and  coura^'e.  "Divoid  of  the 
Torah,  our  vital  element,  we  are  surely  thrciitened  with 
death."  said  Rabbi  Akiba,  appiyinj,'  to  himself  the  fable  of 
the  fox  and  the  fishes,  as  he  (K  lied  the  Roman  edict.'  The 
fear  lest  the  Torah  should  be  forgotten,  stimulated  the  teachers 
and  their  disciples  ever  anew  to  its  pursuit.  Tlu-  Torah  was 
regarded  as  the  bond  and  |)ledge  of  tiod's  nearness;  hence 
the  many  rabbinical  sayings  concerning  it->  value  in  the  eyes 
of  Ciod.  which  are  frecjuently  couched  in  poetic  and  extrava- 
gant language.'-  The  underlying  itlea  of  them  all  is  that 
Israel  could  dispense  with  its  State  and  its  Temple,  but  not 
with  its  storehouse  of  divine  truth,  from  which  it  constantly 
derives  new  life  and  new  youth. 

7.  One  important  ciuestion,  however,  remains,  which 
must  be  answered :  Has  the  Jewish  people,  shut  up  for  cen- 
turies by  the  ramparts  of  Talmudic  Judaism,  actually  re- 
nounced its  world  mission?  In  transmitting  part  of  its 
inheritance  to  its  two  daughter-religions,  has  Judaism  lost 
its  claim  to  be  a  world-religion?  The  Congregation  of 
Israel,  according  to  the  Midrash,  answers  this  (luc-^tion  in 
the  words  of  the  Shulamite  in  the  S<>ng  of  Songs:  "I  sleep, 
but  my  heart  waketh."  ^  During  the  >ad  period  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  Judaism  in  its  relation  to  the  outer  world  slej)!  a  long 
winter-sleep,  now  in  one  land  and  now  in  another,  but  its 
inner  life  always  manifested  a  splendid  activity  of  mind  and 
soul,  exerting  a  mighty  influence  upcm  the  history  of  the 
world.  It  was  declared  dead  by  the  ruling  Church,  and  yet 
it  constantly  filled  her  with  alarm  by  the  truths  it  uttered. 
The  Jewish  people  was  given  over  to  destruction  and  per- 
secution a  thousand  times,  but  all  the  floods  of  hatred  and 


«  Ber.  61  b. 

»  Weber,  1.  c,  46-56 ;  he  fails  com|)letcly  to  giasp  this  spirit. 

•  Sone  of  Sones.  V.  2. 


.1  wvjihwakA.jm:  i^c^vt  '..•^k 


36a 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


n. 


si  I 


violence  -ould  not  (juench  its  flame.  Its  marvelous  endur- 
ance constituted  the  stronKest  possible  protest  against  the 
creed  of  the  Church,  which  claimed  to  possess  an  exclusive 
truth  and  the  only  means  of  salvation.  To  suffer  and  die 
as  martyrs  by  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  at  the  stake 
and  under  the  torture  of  bloodthirsty  mobs,  testifying  to 
the  One  Only  (iod  of  Israel  and  humanity,  was,  to  say  the 
least,  as  heroic  a  mission  as  to  convert  the  heathen.  In- 
deed, the  Jew,  in  ret  iting  theShema  each  morning  in  the  house 
of  God,  renewed  (hiil>  his  zeal  and  faith,  by  which  he  was 
encouraged  to  sacrifice  himself  for  his  s;    ^-ed  heritage. 

8.  But  the  cultivation  of  the  Torah,  obligatory  upon 
every  Jew,  effected  more  '.-ven  than  the  preservation  of 
monotheism.  .Alongside  of  the  Church,  which  did  its  best 
to  suppress  free  thought,  Islam  provided  a  culture  which 
encouraged  study  and  investigation,  and  this  brought  the 
leading  spirits  in  Judaism  tt)  a  profounder  grasp  of  their 
own  literary  treasures.  Bold  truth-seekers  arose  under  the 
Mohammedan  sway  who  had  the  courage  to  break  the  chains 
of  belief  in  the  letter  of  the  Scripture,  and  to  claim  the  right 
of  the  human  reason  to  give  an  opinion  on  the  highest  ques- 
tions of  religion.  The  leading  authorities  of  the  Synagogue 
followed  a  different  course  from  that  of  the  Church,  which 
had  brought  the  Deity  into  the  sphere  of  the  senses,  divided 
the  one  God  into  three  persons,  and  induced  the  people  to 
worship  the  image  of  Mary  and  her  God-child  rather  than 
God  the  Father.  They  insisted  on  the  absolute  unity  and 
spirituality  of  God,  eliminated  all  the  human  attributes 
ascribed  lo  Him  in  Scripture,  and  stro'e  to  attain  the  loftiest 
and  purest  possible  conception  of  His  being.  It  took  a 
mighty  effort  for  the  people  of  the  Law  to  reexamine  the  entire 
mass  of  tradition  in  order  to  harmonize  philosophy  and  reli- 
gion, and  invest  the  divine  revelation  with  the  highest  spiritual 
character.     This  mciilal  activity  exerted  a  great  influence 


>'*'»¥W»'iJI» 


ISRAF.L,   THE    PKOIM.I.  Ol     rilK   LAW 


363 


upon  the  wh(;li'  course  of  thought  of  sul)sc(iucnt  centuries 
and  even  upon  mtxiern  philosophy.  Af^ain  Israel  became 
conscious  of  his  mission  of  liKht.  Jewish  thinkers,  ')ften 
combining  rabhi.  physician,  and  astronomer  in  one  |)erson, 
carried  the  torch  of  science  and  fr<'<'  inve>ii^'ation.  directly 
or  indirectly,  into  the  cell  of  many  a  Christian  monk,  rous- 
ing the  dull  spirit  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  bringing  new  intel- 
lectual nurture  to  the  Church,  else  she  might  have  starved 
in  her  mental  poverty. 

The  Jews  of  Spain  became  the  teachers  of  Christian  Europe. 
The  forerunners  of  the  Protestant  Reformation  sat  at  the 
feet  of  Jewish  masters.  Jewish  students  of  the  Hebrew 
language,  scientifically  trained,  opened  up  the  simple  mean- 
ing of  the  Scriptural  word,  so  long  hidden  by  traditional 
interpretation.  The  Lutheran  and  the  English  translations 
of  the  Bible  were  due  to  their  efforts,  and  thus  also  the  rise 
of  Protestantism,  which  inaugurated  the  modern  era.  Vet 
this  intellectual  revival,  this  wonderful  activity  of  various 
thinkers  among  medieval  Jewry,  recjuired  a  soil  susceptible 
to  such  seeds,  an  atmosphere  favorable  to  this  intense  search 
for  truth.  This  existed  only  in  the  Jewish  people,  since  the 
universal  study  of  the  Torah  brought  it  about  that  "all  the 
children  of  Israel  had  light  in  their  dwellings"  even  while 
dense  darkness  covered    the  nations  of   the  medieval  world, 

9.  We  must  not  underrate  the  cultural  mission  of  the 
Jewish  people,  with  its  striking  contrast  to  the  \ew  Testa- 
ment point  of  view,  which  created  monasteries  and  the  celi- 
bate ideal,  and  thus  discouraged  industry,  commerce,  and 
scientific  inquiry.  Dispersed  as  they  were,  the  Jewish  people 
cultivated  both  commerce  and  science,  and  thus  for  centuries 
were  the  real  bearers  of  culture,  the  intermediaries  between 
East  and  West.  While  the  Church  divided  mankind  into 
heirs  of  heaven  and  hell,  thus  sowing  discord  and  hatred,  the 
little  group  of  Jews  maintained  their  ideal  of  an  undivided 


<    11 


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Ml 


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I. 


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364 


JEWISH  THEOI.OdY 


humanity.     But  even  their  in<lustri:il  ami  commercial  a<  tiv- 
ity  had  more  than  a  mere  economi<    HiKniluance.     Forced 
ujKin  the  Jew  by  external  pressure,  it  was  favored  by  Jewish 
teaching  ..s  a  means  of  promotinjr  spiritual  life.     Not  |M)verty 
and  bei'Rary,  but  wealth  begotten   by  honest   toil   has   the 
sanction  VI  Judaism  in  accordance  with  the  saying   "Where 
there  is  no  tlour  for  bread,  there  can  be  no  support  for  the  siu<ly 
of  the  Torah."  '  Moreover,  the  rabbis  interpreted  the  verse, 
"Rejoice,  O  Zebulun,  in  thy  going  out.  and  thou,  Issachar, 
in  thy  tents,"-  as  meaning  that  Zebulun,  the  seafarer,  sharetl 
the  profit  of  his  commerce  with  I>sachar,  who  taught  the  law 
in  the  tents  of  the   Torah.  that  he,  in  turn,  might  share  his 
brother's  spiritual  reward.     Indeed,  the  Jew  used  his  gains 
won  by  trade  in  the  service  of  the  promotion  of  learning, 
and   thus  his  entire   industry  assumed  a   higher  character. 
Our  nuKlern  civilization,  with  its  higher  values  of  life,  owes 
much  to  the  cultural  activity  of    the  medieval   Jew,  which 
many  leaders  of  the  ruling  Church  still  ignore  completely.     It 
is  true  that  the  hard  struggle  for  their  very  e.xistence  ke|)t  the 
people  unconscious  of  their  cultural  mission,  and  only  now 
that  they  have  attained  the  higher  historical  point  of  view 
can  they  e.\claim  with  Joseph  their  ancestor:    "As  for  you, 
ye  meant  evil  against  me;    but  God  meant  it  for  good,  to 
bring  it  to  pass,  as  it  is  this  day,  to  save  much  people  alive."  ' 
The  fact  is  that  Jewish  commerce  has  been  an  important 
cosmopolitan  factor  in  the  past,  and  is  still  working,  to  a 
certain  extent,  in  the  same  direction.* 

10.  New  and  great  tasks  have  been  assigned  by  divine 
Providence  to  the  Jew  of  modern  times,  who  is  a  full  citizen 
in  the  cultural,  social,  and  political  life  of  the  various  nations. 

1  .\both.  Ill,  21.  »  Heut.  XXXIII,  iS     Sec  Ocn.  R.  XCIX,  1 1. 

*  Gen.  L.  20. 

♦See  J.  r...  art.  "Commerce";  .Vmerican  F.ncyrlnpedia,  art.  Jewish  Com- 
merce; Publ.  .\ni.  Hist.  S(x.  X,  47;  '>M\x\m;xn\n J udMiin Addresses,  II,  77  ff., 
and  Lccky :  Rationalism  in  Europe,  11,  272. 


\ 


ISRAKL,    rilK   I'KOPLK  Ol    Till.   LAW 


365 


These  tasks  are  most  holy  to  him  ;is  Jew.  the  hearer  of  .1 
great  mission  to  the  world,  whit  h  i-.  emh<Mlie«l  in  hi-,  heritaj^e, 
ihe  Torah.     However  >|)len<li«l  may  have  heen  hi>  ai  hieve 
ments  in  the  lie!*U  of  in.histry  and  (ommtne,  of  ht<-rature 
and  art,  hi>  own  |)e(  uliar  possessitm  is  the    Torah  alone,  the 
religious  truth   for   whieh   he   fout^ht   and   sulTered   all    the-e 
centuries  p.i^t ;   this  must  forever  remain  the  central  thought, 
the  aim  of  all  his  striving  '     I'.very  a»  hievement  of  the  Jew- 
ish people,  every  attainment   in  power,  knowled;,'e,  or  ^kill, 
mu>-t  lead  toward  the  completion  of  the  divine  kinf?<lom  of 
truth  and  justiie:    that  for  which  the  Jew  laid  the  founda- 
tion at  the  l)ei,'innini,'  of  his  history  is  still  leading  forwanl 
the  entire  social  life  of  man  to  render  it  a  divine  household  of 
love  and  peace.     In  order  that  it  may  earry  out  the  world 
mission  mapped  out  by  it^  iircal  seers  of  yore,  the  Jewish 
people  must  jruard  against  absorption  by  the  multitude  of 
nations  as  much  as  a.L'ainst  isolation  from  them.     It  mu^l 
preserve  its  identity  without  «•>»""  h^v^  into  a  separation 
rooted    in    self-adulation    and    clannishness.     Instead,    the 
great  goal  of  Israel  will  be  reached  only  by  patient  endurance 
and    perseverance,    confidently    awaiting    the    fulfillment   in 
God's  own  time  of  the  glorious  prophecy  that  all  the  nations 
shall  be  led  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord  by  the  priest- 
people,   there  to  worship  (iod   in   truth   and   righteousness. 
The  Law  is  to  go  forth  from  Zion  and  the  word  of  the  Lord 
f'l.m  Jerusalem,  as  a  spiritual,  not  a  geographical  center.     This 
vision  forms  the  highest  pinnacle  of  human  aspiration,  rising 
higher  and  higher  before  the  mind,  ai  man  ascends  from  one 
stage  of  culture  to  another,  striving  ever  for  perfection,  for 
the  sublimest   ideal  of  life.    Thi>  i-^  characteristically   e.x- 
pressed  by  the  Midrash,  which  refers  to  the  Messianic  vision: 
"And  it  shall  come  to  p:.ss  in  the  end  of  days,  that  the  moun- 
tain of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established  as  the  top  of  the 


M 


•VuiF'T.  •S'TV. 


ri  t 


5  hi 


t  » 


u 


t.  I 


:!::r 


i66 


JF.WISM   TIIE()I.(M;Y 


mountainH,  and  shall  he  cxaltnl  alK)Vc  the  hills."'  "One 
grrat  njnuntain  cf  the  earth  will  he  pilnl  u|M»n  the  other,  anti 
Mount  /ion  will  he  |>la((-(l  ii|H>n  the  top  as  the  (ulminatinK 
|)oint  of  all  human  asienlH."  Taken  in  a  figurative  senne, 
in  whiih  alt)ne  the  saying  is  acceplahle,  this  'neans  that  all 
the  heij{hts  of  the  various  ideals  will  finally  nier^e  into  the 
loftiest  of  all  ideals,  when  Israel's  one  holy  G«m|  will  he  ac- 
knowle<l;;ed  as  the  One  for  whom  all  hearts  yearn,  ..hom  all 
minds  seek  as  the  Ideal  of  all  ideals. 

>  fsi    rr,  i,    Miiah  IV,  i;   *cc   Pisilc  144  b;    Midr   Teh.  Ps    XXXVI,  6; 
LXXXVIl.j. 


>4  ! 


f>; 


CHAin-KR   LI  I 

ISRAKL,  THE  SERVANT  OF  T  'K  LoRD,   MaRTYR   AND  Mk.SSIAH 

OF  THE    NaTFONS 

I.  "If  there  arc  rinks  in  sufTerinK.  Israel  takes  [)re<eclen(e. 
If  the  duration  of  sorrows  and  the  patience  with  whi»  h  they 
arc  borne,  ennoble,  the  Jews  are  amonj?  the  arist«Krary  of 
every  land.  If  a  literature  is  called  rich  which  contains  a 
few  classic  tragedies,  what  shall  we  say  to  a  national 
tragctly  lasting  for  fifteen  hundreil  years,  in  which  the  jHH'ts 
and  the  actors  are  also  the  heroes?"  With  these  classic- 
words  Leopold  Zunz  intro<luces  the  history  of  sufferings 
which  have  occasioncti  the  hundreds  of  |)lainlive  an<l  |»eni- 
tential  songs  of  the  Synagogue  describe<l  in  his  b(M)k,  f)ie 
Synagogale  Pocsie  des  MiHeUillrrs.  They  are  the  cries  of  a 
nation  of  martyrs,  resounding  through  the  whole  Jewish 
liturgy,  and  appearing  already  in  many  \nc\  'ms  :  "Thou 
hast  given  us  like  sheep  to  be  eaten  .  .in<l  ' 
among  the  nations.  Th()U  makest  us  .i  t  vui 
bors,  a  scorn  and  a  <lerision  to  them  that  an 
All  this  is  come  upon  us,  yet  have  we  n  ' 
neither  have  we  been  false  to  Thy  covenai 
sake  are  we  killed  all  the  day ;  we  are  ,u . . 
for  the  slaughter.  Awake,  why  slecpest  Th. 
Arouse  Thyself,  cast  not  off  forever.  Whr- 
Thou  Thy  face,  and  forgettest  our  affliction  ari<i 
sion?"*  Thus  the  congregation  of  Israel  irs 
what  is  the  answer  of  Heaven? 

•  Ps.  XLIV.  >2-25. 


scattered  us 
to  our  nrit;h- 

n<!  ab(  '     its. 

'm     ihee, 

ivr  Thy 

i>  sheep 

()    Lord? 

■n     hidest 

oj  'pres- 

-;    a   •! 


T^JI^ 


it 


I: 


''i  t'    I 
,-   »      ■  I 

•J*  ' 


Is  •' 


I !' 


i  ? 


Jiff    -1 

V,  h 


^y 


;.  I 


56« 


JKWISH  TIIF.OLOCY 


i    The  Bihio  contain-*  two  an-^wir"* :  the  Arnt  by  F-/.rklel. 
prU-Ht  ami  pn.ph.t  .    the  ..ther  !)>-  the  Kreat  unknown  Mcr 
of  the  K  ile  whoM  wonh  of  lomJort  are  ^iven  in  the  latter 
iwrt .»(  haiah      K/ekiel  jjave  a  ^trrn  ami  .lire,  t  answer :  'The 
Nation,  ^hall  km)W  that   the  hou^e  of  hrael  went   into  cap- 
tivity  hecaUM-  of   tluir   iniquity,   heiauM-   they   l>r.>ke   faith 
with  Me.  ami  I  hid  My  fa«e  from  them;  v,  I  jjave  them  int.. 
the  haml  ..f  their  adversaries,  ami  they  fell  all  of  them  l.y  the 
Hwortl.     AiTordinK    to   their    umleanne-*H    and    aiiordin«    to 
their  tran^^re^Monn  did   I  unto  them;    and  I   hid  My  face 
from  them      Therefore  thu^  sailh  the  Lord  (mmI:    Ni.w  will 
I  hrinn  haik  the  laplivity  of  Jaioh,  and  have  eompas^lcm 
ujKin  the  whole  house  .»f  Israel ;  and  I  will  be  jealous  for  My 
holy  name.     And  they  shall  bear  their  shame,  and  all  their 
breath  of  faith  which  they  eomnitled  a^aii^t  Me."  '    These 
words  are  echoed  in  the  harrowiuK  admonitory  chapter  of 
Leviticus,   which,   however,  doses   with    words   of   comfort: 
"And  they  shall  confess  their  inicjuity  ...  if  then  iH-rchance 
their  uncircumcised   heart    be  humbled,   and    tiny   then   be 
paid  the  punishment  of  their  iniquity;   then  will  I  remember 
My  covenant  with  Jacob,  ai^d  also  My  covenant  with  Isaac, 
and   also    My    covenant    with    Al.raham    will    I    remember; 
and  I  will  remember  the  laml."  '    This  view  c.f  divine  justice 
as  external  and  punitive  was  basic  to  the  Syna^'oKU^'  Hturj^y 
and  the  entire  rabbinic  system.     The  priestly  idea  ofatcme- 
ment,  that  sin  could  be  -viped  out  by  sairilue.  made  a  pro- 
found impressicm,  not  only  upon  individual  sinners,  but  also 
upon  the  nation.     Hence  it  was  applied  especially   to  the 
people  in  exile  when  they  could  not  bring  sac  rilices  to  their 
God.     Still,   one   means   of   atonement    remained,   the   exile 
itself,  which  could  lead  the  people  to  repentance  and  fmally 
to  God's  forgiveness.^    Thus  the  people  retained  a  hope  of 
return  from  their  c; .  -ivity.     They  were  assured  by   their 
»  Ezek.  XXXIX.  2i-a6.       »  Lev.  XXVI,  40-42.       *  I  K.in«s  Mil,  47-SO- 


^i3riv.#Aca«sjay<rj5i-'«gci.,  "iLJiirr:.»  i.^?^'r'r:jJ¥' 


I^KAl.l.,    IHK   hKKvAM    «t|     I  MI.    I.«»KI) 


^6.) 


pr«>|vhelit  monitur-.  thai  thi-  faithful  lommiinitv  of  thr  LonI 
wiiuUl  .miin  In-  riti'i\f<l  ill  favt.i  by  ihr  (i'M|  i.f  f.iilh(ultu"*<». 
Thiy  v\if\  liuilt  tluir  hupf  upon  tin-  [Mtrtion-^  ul  ihi-  L.iw. 
whiih  w.i'*  ri'.nl  to  aH-«'ml»!ti|  \vor^hi|H'r-v  that  they  niiuht 
know  ami  oIimtm'  it  on  tluir  rrtiirti  to  tlu-  land  of  tlu-ir 
fathfr>«  hr  i>  I  t  uiM  mv  with  thr  INalini^t  :  "I'nli".^  'I'hy 
law  had  hvrn  my  i|tlii;ht,  I  >houUI  thru  havr  jM•ri'^h^•ll  in 
mine  alMiition."'  Attonlin^;  to  a  I'al.Hiini.m  lla^i-atli^t, 
"  Isrul  would  ni-MT  have  iKTHi-vcrt-d  "to  lonj^  ha<l  not  tho 
Torah,  thr  marriauf  rontrail  of  hrai-l  with  it^  IiihI,  pUduol 
to  it  a  Kloriou^  luturr  on  tlu-  holy  v)il  "  -  Wait  patit-ntly  for 
(itMl-.  nuTiy.  wlii«h  in  ni>>  ov.n  tinu-  will  nhuild  I^rarlH 
Slate  and  'IVnipIc !  thi^  i^  the  kiynole  t)f  all  the  pray ir-» 
and  son^s  of  On-  Synanotfuiv 

\.  But  the  Kreat  M-er  «»(  the  exile,  who->e  anonyniily  lends 
still  greater  ini|)ressiveneHs  to  his  wonh  of  roniforl,  Htotnl  on 
a  hij?her  hiUoriial  plane  than  that  of  K/ekiel  the  priest  lie 
wilne>4sed  the  transformation  of  the  entire  politiial  world 
of  his  time  through  the  viitory  of  Cyrus  {\\v  Mede  over  the 
Babylonian  empire,  and  thus  was  able  to  attain  a  proloundor 
grasp  «)f  the  destiny  of  his  own  nation  Ilente  he  was  not 
satisfied  with  the  new  of  K/ckiel.  The  latter  had  applied 
tht  i)oj)ular  saying.  "The  fathers  have  eat»n  st>ur  grapes, 
and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge."  ^  to  refute  the 
belief  that  an  individual  was  punished  for  the  sins  of  his 
fathers;  but  he  failed  to  extend  this  dot  trine  to  the  whole 
nation.  Whatever  sins  were  committed  by  the  generation 
who  were  exiled,  their  children  ought  not  to  sutler  for  them 
"in  double  measure."*  Moreover,  the  realm  «)f  love  has  a 
higher  law  than  aton»  tnerU  through  retribution.  1-ove  bri.igs 
its  sacritue  without  asking  why.  By  willing  sacrilUe  of  self 
it  serves  its  higher  purpose.  He  who  struggles  and  sulTers 
silently  for  the  good  and  true  is  God's  sennnl.  who  cannot 


c  .\i.\ 

.2  B 


:VII!.  ;.         M33X5>? 


I 


I 


in 

m. 

hi  ■  I 


k 


I" 

1'. 


'It 
It!    I 


I'll;;! 

Hi'    -■ 


^^O  JEWISH  THEOLOGY 

perish.  He  attains  a  higher  glory,  transcending  the  fate 
of  mortality.  Thi-.  is  the  new  revelation  that  came  'o  the 
seer  as  he  pondered  on  the  destiny  of  Israel  m  exile, 
illumining  for  him  that  dark  enigma  of  his  people's  tragic 

history.  .         ,    ,  * 

The  problem  of  suffering,  especially  that  of  the  servant 
of  God.  or  the  pious,  occupied  the  Jewish  mind  ever  since 
the  days  of  Jeremiah  and  especially  during  the  exile.    The 
author  of  the  book  of  Job  elaborated  this  into  a  great  theodicy, 
speaking  of  Job  also  as  the  "servant  of  the  Lord.         What- 
ever pattern  our  exilic  seer  employed,  beside  the  chapters 
about  the  Servant  of  the  Lord,^  whatever  tragic  fate  of  some 
great  contemporary  the  plaintive  song  in  the  fifty-second 
and  fifty-th;  d  chapters  referred  to  (some  point  to  Jeremiah, 
others  to  Zerubabel),»  or  whether  the  poet  had  in  mind  only 
the  tragic  fate  of  Israel,  as  raany  modern  exegetes  thmk; 
in  any  case  he  conceived  the  unique  and  pathetic  picture  of 
Israel  as  the  suffering  Servant  of  the  Lord,  who  is  at  last  to 

be  exalted :  *  .       ,    „  u  u^^ 

"Behold,  My  servant  shall  prosper,  he  shall  be  exalted 
and  lifted  up.  and  shall  be  very  high.  According  as  many 
were  appalled  at  thee  -  so  marred  was  his  visage  unlike  that 
of  a  man,  and  his  form  unlike  that  of  the  sons  of  men  -so 
shall  he  startle  many  nations;  kings  shall  shut  their  mouths 
because  of  him ;  for  that  which  had  not  been  told  them  they 
shall  see,  and  that  which  they  had  not  heard  shall  they  per- 
ceive Who  would  have  believed  our  report?  And  to  whom 
hath  the  arm  of  the  Lord  been  revealed?  For  he  shot  up 
right  forth  as  a  sapling,  and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground; 

«  Job  I.  8;  IT,  3;  XUT.  7,8. 

Usi  XLII,  1  f  ;  XI.IX,  I ;  L.  4;  LII.  i3-Lni,  12. 

'SeVlbn   Kzra,  quotin.  Saadia;    Ewald  and  Giesebrecht,  commentanes; 
ScUin:  Scrubabel,  g6  f..  144  f- ;  also  Davidson,  I.  c    p.  3Sfr^398^ 

Ms,.  LII,  13-LIII,  12.    In  LIII,  Q,  we  should  read  "the  evil-doers 
stead  of  "the  rich"  by  a  slight  umcndmcnt  of  the  test. 


i 


ISRAEL,  THE  SERVANT  OF  THE  LORD  37 » 

he  had  no  form  nor  comeliness,  that  we  should  look  upon 
him,  nor  beauty  that  we  should  delight  in  him.     He  was 
despised  and  forsaken  of  men,  a  man  of  pains,  and  acquainted 
with  disease,  and  as  one  from  whom  men  hide  their  face; 
he  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed  him  not.     Surely  our  dis- 
eases he  did  bear,  and  our  pains  he   carried;    whereas  we 
did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God  and  afflicted.     But 
he  was  wounded  because  of  our  transgressions,  he  was  crushed 
because  of  our  iniquities;    the  chastisement  of  our  welfare 
was  upon  him,  and  with  his  stripes  we  were  healed.     All  we, 
like  sheep,  did  go  astray,  we  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way ; 
and  the  Lord  hath  made  to  light  on  him  th;-  iniciuity  of  us 
all.     He  was  oppressed,   though  he  humbled   himself,   and 
opened  not  his  mouth  ;  as  a  lamb  that  is  led  to  the  slaughter, 
and  as  a  sheep  that  before  her  shearers  is  dumb;    yea,  he 
opened  not  his  mouth.     By  oppression  and  judgment  he 
was  taken  away,  and  with  his  generation  who  did  reason? 
For  he  was  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living,  for  the  trans- 
gression of  my  people  to  whom  the  stroke  was  due.    And 
they  made  his  grave  with  the  wicked,  and  with  the  rich  his 
tomb ;    although  he  had  done  no  violence,  neither  was  any 
deceit  in  his  mouth.     Yet  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  crush  him 
by  disease ;  to  see  if  his  soul  would  offer  itself  in  restitution, 
that  he  might  see  his  seed,  prolong  his  days,  and  that  the 
purpose  of  the  Lord  might  prosper  by  his  hand.    Of  the  trav- 
ail of  his  soul  he  shall  see  to  the  full,  even  My  servant,  who 
by  his  knowledge  did  justify  the  Righteous  One  to  the  many, 
and  their  iniquities  he  did  bear.     Therefore  will  I  divide 
him  a  portion  among  the  great,  and  he  shall  divide  his  soul 
with  the  mighty ;   because  he  bared  his  soul  unto  death,  and 
was  numbered  with  the  transgressors;    yet  he  bore  the  sin 
of  many,  and  made  intercession  for  the  transgressors." 

4.   Whatever  be  the  historical  background  of  this  great 
elegy,  our  seer  uses  it  to  portray  Israel  as  the  tragic  hero 


■■ 


I       ! 


h;. 


:i!f 


3^,  JEWISH  THEOLOGY 

of  the  world's  history.    His  prophetic  genius  possessed  a 
unique  insight  into  the  character  and  destiny  of  his  people, 
seeing  Israel  as  a  man  of  woe  and  grief,  chosen  by  Providence 
to  undergo  unheard-of  trials  for  a  great  cause,  by  which,  at 
the  last,  he  is  to  be  exalted.     Bent  and  disfigured  by  his 
burden  of  misery  and  shame,  shunned  and  abhorred  as  one 
laden  with  sin,  he  suffers  for  no  guilt  of  his  own.     He  is  called 
to  testify  to  his  God  among  all  the  i^eoples,  and  is  thus  the 
Servant  of  the  Lord,  the  atoning  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  man- 
kind, from  whose  bruises  healing  is  to  come  to  all  the  nations, 
—an  inimitable  picture  of  a  self-sacrificing  hero,  whose  death 
means  life  to  the  world  and  glory  to  God,  and  who  will  at  last 
live  forever  with  the  Lord  whom  he  has  served  so  steadfastly. 
Our  seer  mentions  in  earlier  passages  the  Servant  of  the 
Lord  who  "gave  hs  back  to  the  smiters,  and  his  cheeks  to 
them  that  plucked  off  the  hair ;   and  hid  not  his  face  from 
shame  and  spitting."  '    Yet  "  he  shall  set  his  face  like  a  flint," 
so  that  "he  shall  not  fail  nor  be  crushed,  till  he  have  set  the 
right  in  the  earth ;  and  the  isles  shall  wait  for  his  teaching."  * 
Still  more  directly,  he  says:  "And  He  said  unto  Me,  'Thou 
art  My  servant,  Israel,  in  whom  I  will  be  glorified.'  ...     It 
is  too  light  a  thing  that  thou  shouldcst  be  My  servant  to  raise 
up  the  tribes  of  Jacob  and  to  restore  the  offspring  of  Israel ; 
I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  of  the  nations,  that  My  salva- 
tion may  be  unto  the  end  of  the  earth.     Thus  saith  the  Lord, 
the  Redeemer  of  Israel,  his  Holy  One,  to  him  who  is  despised 
of  men,  to  him  who  is  abhorred  of  nations,  to  a  servant  of 
rulers :    kings  shall  see  and  arise,  princes,  and  they  shall 
prostrate  themselves;    because  of  the  Lord  that  is  faithful, 
ever  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  who  hath  chosen  thee."  ' 

S.  It  was,  however,  no  easy  matter  for  men  reared  in  the 
old  view  to  reach  the  lofty  conception  of  a  suffering  nero. 
Even  the  dramatic  figure  of  Job  seemed  to  lack  the  right 

»Isa.L,6.  »Isa,XLII,4.  » Isa.  XUX,  i-6. 


i>i?ti<iv^li 


^«>^;r  ,..;<y  , 


v'^a* 


.4aj.4ui 


^.-'-vifrf:; 


mmn 


ISRAEL,  THE  SERVANT  OF  THE  LORD  37? 

solution.    Job  protests  his  guiltlessness,  defies  the  dark  power 
of  fate,  and  even  challenges  divine  justice,  but  God  himself 
announces  at  the  end  that  no  man  can  grasp  the  essence  of 
Hii.  plan  for  the  world.     A  later  and  more  naive  writer, 
who  added  the  conclusion  of  the  book,  reversed  Job's  destiny 
and  compensated  him  by  a  double  share  of  what  he  had  lost 
in  both  wealth  and  family.*     As  if  the  great  problem  of 
suffering  could  be  solved  by  such  external  means !     Neither 
would  the  problem  of  the  great  tragedy  of  Israel,  the  martyr- 
priest  of  the  centuries,  the  Job  of  the  nations,  ever  find  iis 
solution  in  a  national  restoration.    A  mere  political  rebirth 
could   never  compensate   for   the   thousandfold   death   and 
untold  woe  of  the  Jew  for  his  God  and  his  faith !     But  the 
people  at  large  could  not  grasp  such  a  conception  as  is  that 
of  Deutero- Isaiah's  of  the  mission  of  Israel  to  be  the  suffer- 
ing servant  of  the  Lord,  the  witness  of  God  —  which  is  "mar- 
tyr" in  the  Greek  version,  —  the  redeemer  of  the  nations. 
They  were  eager  to  return  to  Palestine,  to  rebuild  State  and 
Temple  under  the  leadership  of  the  heir  to  the  throne  of 
David.     But  when  their   hope  had  failed  that  Zcrubbabel 
would  prove  to  be  the  "shoot  of  Jesse,"  ^  the  prophetic  elegy 
was  referred  to  the  Messiah,  and  the  belief  gained  ground 
that  he  would  have  to  suffer  before  he  would   triumph.' 
Thus  many  a  pseudo-Messiah  fell  a  victim  to  the  tyranny 
of  Rome  in  both  Juda;a  and  Samaria,  —  for  the  Samaritans 
also  hoped  for  a  Messiah,  a  redeemer  of  the  ty-pe  of  Moses." 
Finally  a  belief  arose  that  there  would  be  two  Messiahs, 
one  of  the  house  of  Joseph,  that  is,  the  tribe  of  Ephraim, 

»JobXLII,  IO-I7- 

»The  disappointment  is  especially  voiced  in  Ps.  LXXX,  i6  f . ;    LXXIX, 

40—46. 

•See  Tar«um  and  Abravanel  to    Isa.  LII,  13;    comp.  Pes.  R.  XXXVI- 

XXXVII;  Sanh.  Q8b. 

♦  He  is  called  Taeb  "  Moses  rcdivivus,"  after  Deut.  XVIII,  18.     Mcrk,   E. 
Samarii.  Fragment  neb.  d.  T^uh.     See  Bousset,  1.  c,  258;  J-  1'-,  art.  Samaritans. 


1         )l 


1  ^i; 


■ 


<:)• 


374 


JEWISH  THEOLOOY 


who  would  fall  before  the  sword  of  the  enemy.'  and  the  other 
of  the  house  of  David,  who  was  to  tonc^uer  the  heathen 
na  i  >iis  and  establish  his  throne  forever.'' 

The  Church  referred  the  pathetic  figure  of  the  man  of  sor- 
row to  her  crucified  Messiah  or  Christ.  Yet  he  who  was 
to  be  a  world-savior  bore  through  his  followers  damnation  to 
his  own  kinsmen,  and  thus  was  rendered  the  chief  cause  of 
the  persecution  of  the  martyr-race  of  Israel. 

6.   We  learn,  however,  from  Origen,  a  Church  father  of 
the  third  century,  that  Jewish  scholars,  in  a  controversy  with 
him.  expressed  the  view  that  the  Servant  of  the  Lord  refers 
to  the  Jewish  people,  which,  dispersed  among  the  nations  and 
universally  despised,   would   finally  obtain   the  ascendancy 
over  them,   so   that  many  of   the  heathen   would   espouse 
the   Jewish  faith.'     Most  of  the  medieval  Jewish  exegetes, 
including  Rashi,  who  usually  follows  the  traditional  view, 
refer  the  chapter  likewise  to  the  Jewish  people.    As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  earlier  chapters  which  speak  of  the  Servant  of 
the  Lord  can  have  no  other  meaning,  while  many  points  in 
the  description  of  the  suffering  hero,  especially  the  reference 
to  his  seed  after  his  death,  do  not  fit  the  Nazarene  at  all. 
Hence  all  independent  Christian  scholars  to-day  have  aban- 
doned the  tradition  of  the  Church,  and  admit  that  Israel 
alone  is  declared  by  the  prophet  to  be  the  one  singled  out  by 
God  to  atone  for  the  sins  of  the  nations,  to  arouse  all  hu- 
-lanity  to  a  deeper  spiritual  vision,  and  finally  to  triumph 
o  or  all  the  heathen  world.* 

7.  Thus  the  strange  history  of  the  martyr  people  is  put 
in  the  right  light  and  the  great  tragedy  of  Israel  explained. 
Israel  is  the  champion  of  the  Lord,  chosen  to  battle  and  suffer 
for  the  supreme  values  of  mankind,  for  freedom  and  justice, 

»  Suk.  $2  a;  Jellinek  :  B.  H.  Ill,  141  f ;  Schuerer,  1.  c,  II,  535. 
»  J.  E..  art.  Messiah.  '  Contra  Cclsum  I.  155. 

*  See  commentaries  of  Cheyne,  Duhm,  Giesebrecht,  and  others. 


'>:^»ffi:.-  W*ii(EJ?C'=.S^X5f>^r^ 


^^gS.-3.'-  V  7j;wr/:.^Mi^PaiaiSfcte. 


ISRAFX,  THE  SERVANT  OF  THE   LORD  ,^7S 

truth  ami  humanity;  the  man  of  woe  an.i  grief,  whose  blood 
i^  to  fertilize  the  soil  with  the  seeds  of  righteousness  and  love 
for  mankind.     From   the  days  of   Pharaoh   to   the   present 
day,  every  oppressor  of  the  Jew>  has  become  the  means  o 
bringing  greater  liberty  to  a  wider  circle ;    for  the  Cod  o 
Israel    the  Hater  of  bondage,  has  been  appealed  to  in  behall 
of  freed.)m  in  the  old  world  and  the  new.     Kvery  hardship 
that  made  life  unbearable  to  the  Jew  became  a  road  to  human- 
ity's triumph  over  barbarism.     All  the  injustice  and  malice 
which  hurled  their  bitter  shafts  against  Israel,  the  Pariah  of 
the  nations,  led  ultimately  to  the  greater  victory  of  right 
and  love      So  all  the  dark  waves  of  hatreil  and  fanaticism 
that  beat  against  ihe  Jewish  people  served  only  to  impress 
the  truth  of  monotheism,  coupled  with  sincere  love  of  God  and 
man.  more  deeply  upon  all  hearts  and  to  consign  hypocrisy 
and  falsehood  to  eternal  contempt.     Such  is  the  belief  con- 
fidently held  by  the  people  of  God.  and  ever  confirmed  anew 
by  the  history  of  the  ages.     "He  is  near  that  justilicth  me; 
who  will  contend  with  me?  let  us  stand  up  together;   who  is 
mine  adversary?   let  him   come   near   to  me.     Behold,   the 
Lord  God  will  help  me ;  who  is  he  that  shall  condemn  me? 
Thus  speaks  the  Servant  of  the  Lord,  certain  that  he  will 
finally  triumph,  because  he  defends  God's  cause,  and  is  bound 
indissolubly  to  Him.^    Indeed.  God  says  of  him :" Surely , 
he  that  toucheth  you  toucheth  the  apple  of  Mine  (his)  eye. 

8  The  great  importance  which  the  rabbis  attached  to 
Israel's  martyrdom  is  shown  by  the  following  remarks  in 
connection  with  the  laws  of  sacrifice:  "Behold,  how  the 
Torah  selects  for  the  sacrificial  altar  only  such  animals  as 
belong  to  the  pursued,  not  the  pursuers:  the  ox  which  is 
pursued  by  the  lion :  the  lamb  which  is  pursued  by  the  wolf ; 
the  goat  which  is  pursued  by  the  pantuor.  but  none  of  those 


'Isa.  L,  8-g. 
^Zctii.  II,  12. 


5  Comp.  Pt-sik.  131  b;   Ex.  R.  II,  7- 
See  Gei'^cr:  Ur-;ckrifi,  324.  as  to  the  Soferic  Emendation. 


.-•  -ssKf*;;^: 


376 


JEWISH  TIIKOLOGY 


1      I 


m 


m 


fiiS-' 


which  feed  on  prey,    ^n  like  manner  Cod  chose  for  His  own 
the  persecuted  ones :  Abel,  who  was  persecuted  by  his  brother 
Cain  ;  Noah,  who  was  derided  by  the  generation  of  the  flood  ; 
Abraham,  who  had  to  flee  before  the  tyrant  Nimro<l ;   and 
Isaac,  Jacob,  and  Joseph,  who  met  with  unkindness  from 
their  own  brothers.     In  the  same  way  God  has  chosen  Israel 
from  among  the  seventy  nations,  as  the  lamb  hunted,  as 
it  were,  by  seventy  wolves,  that  it  should  bear  His  law  to 
mankind."  >    This  idea  is  expressed  also  in  the  Haggadic 
saying:    "Those  shall  be  privileged  to  see  the  majesty  of 
God  in  full  splendor  who  meet  humiliation,  but  do  not  humil- 
iate others;  who  bear  insult,  but  do  not  inflict  it  on  others; 
and  who  endure  a  life  of  martyrdom  in  pure  love  of  God.'" 
Indeed,  the  medieval    Jew  accepted    his  sad    lot  in  this 
spirit  of  resignation.     But  the  modern  Jew  is  in  a  different 
situation.     In  the  mighty  effort  of  our  age  for  higher  truth, 
broader  love  and  larger  justice,  he  beholds  the  nearing  of  the 
prophetic  goal  of  a  united  humanity,  based  on   the  belief 
in  God,  the  King  and  Father  of  all.    Accordingly,  modern 
Judaism  proclaims  more  insistently  than  ever  that  the  Jewish 
people  is  the  Servant  of  the  Lord,  the  suffering  Messiah  of 
the  nations,  who  offered  his  life  as  an  atoning  sacrifice  for 
humanity  and  furnished  his  blood  as  the  cement  with  which 
to  build  the  divine  kingdom  of  truth  and  justice.    Indeed, 
the  cosmopolitan  spirit  of  the  Jew  is  the  one  element  needed 
for  the  universality  of  culture.    On  the  other  hand,  the  world 
at  large  is  to-day  learning  more  and  more  to  regard  the  superb 
loyalty  of  the  Jew  to  his  ancestral  faith  with  greater  fai-ness 
and  admiration  and  to  accord  larger  appreciation  to  him  and 
his  religion.     Once  the  flood  of  hatred,  dissension,  and  preju- 
dice that  brought  such  untold  havoc  shall  have  disappeared 
from  the  earth;    once  religion  emerges  from  the  nebulous 

»  Pesik.  76  a;  Eccl.  R.  Ill,  19;  Lev.  R.  XXVII,  5. 
'  Voma  23  a,  referring  to  Jud.  V,  31. 


hVi 


h>^ 


w^.^'^mm^sm^^^^j 


ISRAEL,  THE  SERVANT  OF  THE  LORD  377 

atmosphere  of  othcr-worldliness.  ami  directs  its  longing  f..r 

Gtxl  toward  a  life  of  godliness  on  earth  in  the  spirit  of  the 

ancient  prophets,  then  ^he  historic  mission  of  the  Jew  will 

also  be  better  understtKxl.     Israel,  the  hunted  dove,  whuh 

found  no  resting-place  for  the  sole  of  its  foot  during  the  Hood 

of  sin  and  ,)ersccution.  will  then  ap,K-ar  with  the  olive  branch 

of  iK-ace  for  all  humanity,  to  oi>cn  the  hearts  of  men  that  all 

may  enter  the  covenant  with  the  universal  Father.     Then, 

and  not  till  then,  will  the  shame  of  those  thousamls  of  years 

be  roiled  away,  when  the  world  will  recognize  that  not  a 

Jew,  but  the  Jew  has  been  the  suffering  Messiah,  and  that  he 

was  sent  forth  to  be  the  savior  of  the  nations. 


il??«R^/:^T'm 


■kjsmsrmm" 


[*  r ' 


5Hi 


I'  •;  / 


! ; 


ir 


'V^-i..||: 


CHAPTER  LIII 
The  Messianic  Hope 

1.  Recent  investigators  have  hrouRht  to  liRht  many  a 
vision  of  an  era  of  heavenly  bliss  brought  about  by  some 
powerful  ruler,  voiced  in  hoary  antiquity  by  seer  or  singer  in 
afklressing  the  royal  masters  of  Babylon  or  Egypt.'  But  no 
word  in  the  entire  vocabulary  of  ancient  poetry  or  prose  can 
so  touch  the  deeper  chords  of  the  heart,  and  so  voice  the 
highest  hopes  of  mankind,  as  does  the  name  Messiah  ("God's 
anointed").  From  a  simple  title  for  any  of  the  kings  of 
Israel,  it  grew  in  meaning  until  it  comprised  the  highest 
b>pes  of  the  nation.  The  Jewish  vision  of  the  future  was 
not  the  twilight  of  the  gods,  which  meant  the  end  of  the 
world  with  its  diities,  but  the  dawr  of  a  new  world,  bright 
with  the  knowledge  of  God  and  blessed  by  the  brotherhood 
of  man.  This,  the  Messianic  ideal,  is  the  creation  of  the 
prophetic  genius  of  Israel,  and  in  turn  it  influenced  man's 
conception  of  God,  lifting  Him  out  of  the  national  bounds, 
and  making  Him  the  God  of  humanity,  Ruler  of  history. 
Israel's  Messianic  hope  has  become  the  motive  power  of 
civilization.  In  the  time  of  (iccpest  national  humiliation 
it  gave  the  prophets  their  power  to  surmount  the  present 
and  soar  to  heights  of  vision  ;  through  it  the  Jewish  people 
attained  their  strength  to  resist  oppression,  buoyed  up  by 
perfect  confidence  and  sublime  hope.  At  the  same  time 
its  magic  luster  captivated  the  non-J' '.vish  nations,  spurring 
them  on  to  mighty  deeds.     Thus  it  has  actually  conquered 

'  Sl'i'  Oressmann  :  Ursfir.  d.  Israel,  u.jued.  Esduitolo'^ic,  — an  instnic  live  work, 
but  full  of  unsubstantiated  assertions,  thus  failing  to  do  justice  to  the  creative 
genius  of  the  Jewish  projjhets. 

378 


(    r 


TIIK  MESSIANU    MOI'E 


379 


the  whole  world  of  man.  With  every  step  in  culture  it 
points  forward  to  hi^h.-r  aims,  still  unattalnol;  it  promises 
to  lead  mankind,  unite*!  in  liod.  the  Only  One.  to  truth  and 
justice,  rinhteousness  and  love.  As  the  Wanner  of  Israel,  tic 
Messiah  of  the  nations,  it  is  .lestined  to  become  the  lo.le- 
star  of  all  nations  and  all  religions.  This  is  the  kernel  of 
the  Jewish  dot  trine  concerning  the  Mt  sm.iIi. 

2.   This   Messianic   hope,  on  closer  an.ily>is.   reveals   two 
elements,  both  of  i>r.)phetic  ori;,'in :   one  national,  the  other 
reliKi«ms  and  universal.     The  latter  is  the  lonical  outcome 
of  the  monotheism  of  the  ^reat  e.xilic  seer,  who  based  his 
stirring  pictures  of  the  glorious  future  of  Israel  upon  the  all- 
encompassing   knowledge  of   (1«mI   possessed   by  the   C"hosen 
People.     The    classic    exi)ression    of    this    hope    ai)pears    m 
Isaiah  II.  1-4,  and  Micah  IV,  i   14  ••  '"An*!  '^  ^^'^1'  '''"'''  \" 
pass  in  the  end  of  days,  that  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's 
house  shall  be  established  as  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and 
shall  be  e.xalted  abi)ve  the  hills;    an.l  all  nations  shall  iL.w 
unto  it.     And  many  peoples  shall  go  and  say:    'Come  ye 
and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lor.l.  to  llic  house 
of  the  God  of  Jacob;  and  He  will  teach  us  of  U\-  ways,  and 
we  will  walk  in  His  paths.'  for  out  of  Zion  .hall  yn  i.-rlhthc 
law,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem.     And  He  shall 
judge  between  the  nations,  and  shall  decide  for  many  peoples; 
and   they   shall   beat   thc'r  swords   into  ploughshares,   and 
their  spears  into  pruning-hooks ;    nation   shall   not    lift   up^ 
sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  the>  learn  war  any  more  " 
We  note,  indeed,  that  no  reference  to  the  Messiah  or  a  king 
of  the  house  of  David  appears  either  in  this  passage  or  any 
of  the  prophecies  of  Deutero-Isaiah.     Justice  and  peace  for 
all  humanity  arc  expected  through  the  reign  of  Cioil  alone. 
The  specific  Mes>ianic  character  of  this  prophecy  took  shape 
only  in  its  association  with  the  older  national  hope,  voiced 
by  the  prophet  Isivian. 


rl'^  tFi!*^-'i 


''^'£m:^m^ 


•*^   '  1'- 


i 


,{ii' 

.|!' 


Ill  '■ 


ill 


I' 


;'i; 


380 


JKWISH  THEOLOC.Y 


^.  The  real  Messianic  hofU'  lnve»Kt<l  the  nifstablishment 
of  the  throne  of  I)avi<l,  and  was  cxpresM-d  im):*t  [nTfcdly 
in  the  wonis  of  Isaiah  :  "And  there  shall  eome  forth  a  shoot 
out  of  the  st(M  k  of  Jesse,  ami  a  twi^  shall  ^row  forth  out  of 
his  roots.  And  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  rest  u|>on  him 
the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding?,  tin-  spirit  of  counnel 
and  mij^ht,  the  spirit  ol  knowleilj{e  an<l  of  the  fear  of  the 
Lord.  And  his  dilinht  shall  f)e  in  the  fear  of  the  I^ord  ;  and 
he  shall  not  ju«lf?e  after  the  si^;ht  (»f  his  lyes,  neither  decide 
after  the  hearing  of  his  i-ars ;  hut  with  righteousness  shall 
he  jud^e  the  poor,  atxl  dec  ifle  with  eciuity  for  the  meek  of 
the  land  ;  and  he  shall  smite  the  land  with  the  rod  of  his 
mouth,  and  with  the  breath  of  his  lips  shall  he  slay  the  wicked. 
And  righteousness  shall  he  the  girdle  of  his  loins,  and  faith- 
fulness the  girdle  of  his  reins.  And  the  wolf  shall  dwell  with 
the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid ;  and 
the  calf  and  the  young  lion  and  the  falling  together;  and  a 
little  child  shall  lead  them.  .  .  .  They  shall  not  hurt  nor 
destroy  in  all  My  ht)ly  mountain ;  for  the  earth  shall  be 
full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lonl,  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea."  ' 

This  pattern  of  the  ideal  ruler  may  have  been  modeled 
after  some  ancient  Habylorv.in  formula  for  the  adoration  of 
kings,  as  has  been  asserted  of  late;  and  the  same  may  be 
true  of  the  mystic  titles  given  by  Isaiah  to  the  royal  heir : 
"Wonderful  coun-elor,  divine  hero,  father  of  spoil,  prince 
of  peace."  -  Wlun  the  little  kingdom  of  Judaia  fell,  the 
prospect  of  a  realization  of  the  great  prophetic  vision  seemed 
gone  forever.  Therefore  the  exiles  in  Babylon  fastened  their 
hopes  so  much  more  firmly  on  the  "Shoot,"  particularly  on 
Zerubabel  ("the  seed  born  in  Babylon"),  the  object  of  the 

'  hi.  W.  1-8. 

'  Isi.  I.V,  5:  the  note  in  the  new  Jewish  translation  takes  the  words  in  a 
different  sense. 


«^^ 


^?:-^m»t':nssL'mmMrv'm^ 


THE  MKSiilANU    IlOl'l 


i8< 


fondest  h«>iM»  of  the  later  prt.plul'. '  Whtn  he,  Urn,  dw- 
ap|w)lnti''  tluir  fxpcaations.  pmhaldy  dm-  Ut  IVr-slan  Inttr 
fiTince,  tluy  tratwhrrtcl  the  ;ul\iril  (•(  tin-  MrvMuh  more 
and  more  into  ihi-  realm  of  niirat  le,  and  [xipular  famy  «lwclt 
fondly  on  his  apinarame  a-  i.^nW  •  hanipion  against  the 
host-,  of  heatlicndnm  ((ioR  an*!  MaKnt");" 

4.  The  lomeption  of  the  prirst  prophrt  K/tkiil  i>  \ery 
siKnilK  ant  in  this  roniu«  tlon  ;  for  him  thr  kingdom  of  I>rail's 
C;»)d  eotild  only  he  e-.ta»)li4ied  l.y  tht-  nnforalion  of  the 
thron'-  of  Davitl.  ;he  rvant  i»f  thi-  Lord,  and  l»y  ihi-  uttir 
(Ustrucllon  of  the  hosts  of  htathmdtmi.  who  were  hostik-  t«) 
both  (lod  ami  Israel.  In  anor<lanie  with  this  lu.pe  the 
author  of  the  second  I'-alm  prtscnts  a  dramatit  pi«  ture  of 
the  Messiah  triumphing  «)\Tr  the  heathen  nations,  a  pi«turc 
which  '  me  typical  for  all  the  future.  "Why  are  the 
nations  an  uproar?  And  why  do  the  jMH.ples  mutter  in 
vain?     'the  kings  of  the  earth  stan  '  :nul  the  rukrs  take 

counsel  together  against  the  Lord,  ami  '  His  anointed  : 

'Let  us  break  their  bands  asunder,  and  ea->  .iway  their  tords 
from  us.*     He  that  sitttih  in  heaven  laugheth.  the  l.urd  h;nl 
them  in  derision.     Then   will   He  speak   unto  them   in   \ 
wrath,  ami  afTright   them   in   His  sore  (li.^ileasure :    'TruU 
it  is  I  that  have  established  My  king  up<-n  Zion.  My  holy 
mountain.'     I  will  tell  of  the  de*  ree  :  The  Lord  said  unto  me  : 
■Thou  art  My  son,  this  day  have  I  be    )tten  thee.     Ask  of 
Me,  and  I  will  give  the  nations  for  t!    le  inhiritame,  and 
the  ends  of  the  earth  for  thy  f)osscssion.    Thou  shalt  break 
them  with  a  rod  of  iron;    thou  shalt  dash  them  in  pieces 
like  a  potter's  vessel.'  .  .  ."     Hencef..rth  the  conception  of 
the    Messiah    alternated   between    Isaiah's   prime   of   peace 
'Jer.    XXIII,  5;  XXXIII,    i-,:  Zeeh    HI,  S;   VI.    1:;   s,r  S.llin.   1.  c. 
romparo  Vi.  I.XXX,  lU  f . ;    I XXXIV,   10,    l.XXXIX.  w  v' ;    t  XXX.  to; 
SOI'   F.vvald's  tommentarv. 

'  K^ck.  XXXVllI- XXXIX;   Sibyll.  III.  ooj;   J.  L.,  art.  I.ok  u.  MuKog; 


-ffwmmm'  '«t*j^i^^itf^3!i*a 


hMM 


i«' 


JFWISII  TIftUMKlY 


|iM| 

\ 

\r 

*  * 

s; 

f 

■  f  , 

ami  thi-  world  conqiu mr  o(  the  P>alml«>t  '  Thr  name  Mr»)«iiih 
i|i>t"»  n«>t  «K(ur  In  S«ri|»tiiri-  iti  ilii-  ahs«»!utc  form,  bul  alwayn 
lH«ur^  in  ihf  tc»n«»lriut  with  JIIMI  or  a  pronoun,  siKnlfyinK 
"the  An«iintt<l  of  tlu-  I.onl  "  AnordiriKl),  it  tspri's»»t'»  ihi* 
relallon  of  ilir  AnoitiU«l  to  (mkI.  hU  v»vcr«iKn.  in  striking 
contrast  to  tht-  luatlun  kin^H  who  thrnwlvi!*  <lainu«l  adora- 
tion a.s  Ro*!-*  Tht'  vtry  nanif  Mi'>Hiah  cxtUuli's  the*  |hi»sI- 
bility  of  diilualinn,  TIr*  t»rni  Mi>-.iah  wan  UMtl  with  thi* 
article  only  In  mu«  h  later  tlnun,  ha  Mnhuih,  or  in  the  Aru- 
n.aic,  MtshUhi,  from  whith  wr  di-rivc  tht-  name,  Messiah. 

5.  In  the  courst"  of  tinu*.  howt-vi-r.  as  the  |h«»|)U'  waltinl  In 
vain  for  a  rnUrnur,  the  «-x|HTtfd  Mi'>»>iali  wa>  li^trd  more 
and  more  int<»  the  realm  of  the  itUal.  The  Ixliei  )k  hohl 
eHpeiially  in  the  inner  cirile  of  the  pious  (llanielim;  that  the 
Messiah  was  hidden  somewhere,  protected  l>y  (IikI,  to  ap|)car 
mira«ulously  after  having  vantjuished  the  hostile  |K)wer». 
The  Kss<-nes,  the  representati\es  »»f  the  secret  htre,  develojH-tl 
this  conception  in  the  A|MKaIypti(  vvritinRs.  thus  Riving  the 
Messiah  a  certain  cosmic  or  sujM-rnatural  iharaiter.  They 
probably  mcnleled  thtir  thoughts  upon  the  Zoroastrian 
system,  where  Sos/iiosh,  the  world  savior,  would  ap|Kar  in 
the  last  millennium  as  the  messenger  of  Ormu/d  to  destroy 
forever  the  kingdom  of  evil  and  establish  the  dominion  of 
the  good.'-'  Thus,  when  Isaiah  says  of  the  Messiah  that 
"by  the  breath  of  his  mouth  he  shall  slay  the  wicked,"  this 
is  referred  to  the  primiple  of  evil,  Satan  <ir  Melial,  who  was 
sometimes  actually  ideiilitkxl  with  the  Persian  Ahriman.' 
Moreover,  after  the  Persian  system,  the  whole  process  of 
history  was  divided  into  six  millenniums  of  strife  between 
the  principle  of  go(Kl  and  evil,   represented  by  the  Torah 


!     I 


'  For  ihf  pr'fire  ot  |ic,'irc,  «•(•.  for  example,  Zcih.  IX,  q. 
'  See  Hous'Hl,  !.  c,  .'5 v  J'". 

'  See  TarRum  to  l!«i.  XI,  4  where  the  older  \U$.  read  Arimalyus,  later  on 
corrupted  mlu  Arnullus.     bcc  Uuubsct,  I.  i.,  stig. 


i=     * 


^!ff 


TIIK  MFSHlAMC   IIOI'I. 


i«i 


and  the  unRtMllInc**  •>(  tho  worM.  ami  a  M-vmih  milUnruum. 
the  klnK.lum  of  CmkI  or  thf  Mo^l.mlc  agv.  Tlu-  .l,.t.-.  -f 
thiM-  w.rc-  ial.ubti<l  u|H.n  ihr  ImhN  ..(  ilu  l).",k  .-I  iKu.i.l. 
with  it-,  (..ur  w..rM  kln^'InmH  ami  my-^ttrinu.  nun.l..  r.  ' 

U     Thr  nil.li.al  |.a-an,>  whi.  h  r.  f*  r  t-  "ihr  iml  -.f  .la>> 
were  alM,  (..nm.lnl  with  ih»-  a.lv.-..f  -f  th.    Mr.Mani.   ajjf, 
ami  th.-  M)  (all..l  .m  hat..l..Kit  al  writings  M«ak  "(  l.xi.l  ihtlhIh 
fullnwinK  om-  am.tlur      I..  a.»..nlatu.-  with  c.rtain  proph.  ik 
hints,  thry  iX|Hiti«l  first  th«-     l-irth  thr.,  ."^  ur  "v.-.tij-.s 
.,(  thr  M»•.^iat.ii  aKc  a  K'nat  phyM.  al  ami  m..ral  . t.m.  «.th 
tho  tumv.il  of  naturr,  pla>.'U.  h.  a.i.l  ntural  .l.jjnu  ra.  y      \U  furr 
the  M.sMah  xv.aiUI  >ml<it..ly  ai>p<ar  (n.m  his  hi.linn  i.la.o. 
the  proplut   r.lijah  was  to  r.turn  fn.m  h.  av<  n    uh.thir  ho 
had  UMomlocI  in  a  lury  chariot      liut,  ^^hil.    ho  hul  hvod 
in  imphuahio  wrath  against  i.h.lator..  ho  wa.  m.w  t..  ...mo 
as  a  mossongor  ..f  |Ka.o.  roM.milin^  tho  hoarts  ..|  l^ra.l  with 
(;.kI  an.l  with  ..no  am.thor,  proparinn  l» '   way  to  r.p  nla.Ko. 
md   thus  to  tho  r..l.nipti..n  ami   rouni..n  of  I>raol.      I  no 
m-xt  slajr-  i^  tho  gathorinn  t..>.'oth.r  of  I>ra.l  fr.-m  all  -..rmrs 
„f  tin    tarth   t..  the  h..lv  lami  umUr  tho  loa.l.r>hi|.  ..f   tho 
Mossiah,  summ..md  hy  tho  blast  of  tho  luavonly  trunip.t  « 
Ihon  hoKins  that  «iKanti.   warfar.-  on  tho  h.ly  >..il  botwoon 
tho  h..sts  ..f  Israel  and  tho  va-t   f..r.os  „f  luatlund..m  Io<l 
l,y   the   half  mvsti.    p..wors  ..f   CloR  an.l    MaK'-H.   a   «"nnut 
which,  acconlinK  t..  K/okirl,  is  to  last  f..r  Mvon  years  ami 
t..  oml  with  tho  annihilation  ..f  tho  |H.vvors  ..f  evil      lU-f.-ro 
tho  real  Messiah,  the  son  of  Davil.  appears  in  vie  t<.ry,  am.ther 
Messiah  ..f  tho  tril.0  ..f  K-diraim  is  t..  fall  in  l.attio,  a.eor.ling 
to  a  hoHof  dating  from     .0  second  rentury  atul  possibly  con- 

'Dm   II     VII;    IX:   •'<■.■  J    i:  .  .irl    IS- li.itn!,.i:N 

''nLuIL.m;    H.S,rr.XIAin.  .oi  ;   S.tnll.  II,  .S; 
'Na  XXVll.  i.r,   !l   ST.  XXXVl.  M,  T..l.it  XIII.  •  r.   I.n.Kh  XC.  32, 
II  Mace.  11.  18;    Uou  set,  1.  V     :7i. 


384 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


5^  i'  • 


'  '.  I. 


V  i,l\  ) 


; !  1 


nected  with  the  Bar  Kochba  war.'  In  another  tradition, 
probably  older,  the  true  Messiah  himself  is  to  suffer  and 
die.'  At  all  events,  he  must  destroy  Rome,  the  fourth  world- 
kingdom.  Hut  he  is  also  to  slay  the  arch-fiend  Ahriman, 
afterwards  known  as  Armillus.  Moreover,  he  will  redeem 
the  dead  from  Sheol,  as  he  possesses  the  key  to  open  all  the 
graves  of  the  holy  land,  and  thus  all  the  sons  of  Israel  will 
partake  in  the  glory  of  his  kingdom.  Then  at  last  the  city 
of  Jerusalem  will  arise  in  splendor,  built  of  gold  and  precious 
stunes,  the  marvel  of  the  world,  and  in  its  midst  the  Temple, 
a  structure  of  surpassing  magnificence.  The  holy  vessels 
of  the  tabernacle,  hidden  for  ages  in  the  wilderness,  will 
appear,  and  the  nations  will  offer  the  wealth  of  the  whole 
earth  as  their  tribute  to  the  Messiah.  All  will  practice 
righteousness  and  piety,  and  will  be  rewarded  by  bliss  and 
numerous  posterity.^ 

Opinions  differ  widely  as  to  the  duration  of  the  Messianic 
age.  They  range  from  forty  to  four  hundred  years,  and 
again  from  three  generations  to  a  full  millennium.''  This 
difference  is  partly  caused  by  the  distinction  between  the 
national  hope,  with  the  temporary  welfare  of  the  people  of 
Israel,  and  the  religious  hope  concerning  the  divine  kingdom, 
which  is  to  last  forever.  A  very  late  rabbinic  belief  holds 
that  the  Messiah  will  be  able  to  give  a  new  law  and  even  to 
abrogate  Mosaic  prohibitions.'' 

7.  At  any  rate,  no  complete  system  of  cschatology  existed 
during  the  Talmudic  age,  as  the  views  of  the  various  apoc- 
alyptic writers  were  influenced  by  the  changing  events  of 
the  time  and  the  new  environments,  with  their  constant 
influence  upon  popular  belief.  A  certain  uniformity,  indeed, 
existed  in   the  fundamental  ideas.     The  Messianic  hope  in 

1  See  Chap.  LII.  '  IV  Ezra  VIII,  28. 

»Sanh.  <;()  f. ;  J.  E.,  art.  Eschatolopy ;   Roussct,  1.  c. 

*  Sanh.  07  a,  h,  Qy.  '  Mldz.  Tel:.  Ps.  CXLVI,  4 ;  ^ee  Biibcr's  note. 


THE   MESSIANIC   HOPE 


.^85 


its  national  character   includes  always  the   reunion   of  all 
Israel  under  a  victorious  ruler  of  the  house  of  David,  who 
shall  destroy  all  hostile  powers  and  brin^  an  era  of  supreme 
prosperity  and  happiness  as  wvll  as  of  peace  and  gocxl-wiil 
among  men.     The  Ilaggadists  indulge<l  also   in  dreams  of 
the  marvelous  fertility  of  the  soil  of  Palestine  in  the  Messianic 
time,'  and  of  the  re-arrection  of  the  dead  in  ihe  holy  land. 
But  in  Juduism  such  views  could  never  become  dogmas,  as 
they  did  in  the  Church,  even  though  they  wore  common  m 
both    the   older    and    younger    Ilaggadah.     These    national 
expectations  were  expressed  in  the  liturgy  by  the  Kightcen 
Benedictions,  composed  by  the  founders  of  the  Synagogue, 
the  so-called  Men  of  the  Great  Synagogue ;   here  the  prayers 
for  "the  gathering  of  the  dispersed"  and  the  "destruction 
of  the  kingdom  of   Insolence"  precede  those  for  the  "re- 
building of  Jerusalem  and  the  resto-ation  of  the  throne  of 
David."     But  the  mvstic  speculations  on  the  origin,  activity, 
and  sojourn  of  the  Messiah,  which  were  a  favorite  theme  of 
the  apocalyptic  writers  an<l  the  Haggiidists  during  the  pre- 
Christian  and  the  first  Christian  centuries,  gave  way  to  a 
more  sober  mode  of  thought,  in   the  disappointment   that 
followed   the   collapse   of   the   g-.^at    Messianic   movements. 
On  the  one  hand,  the  Church  deified  its  Messiah  and  thus 
relapsed  into   paganism;  on   the  other,   Bar   Kochlxi.  "the 
son  of  the  star."  whom  the  leading  Jewish  masters  of  the 
law  actually  considered  the  Messiah  who  woul.l   tree  them 
from  Rome,  proved  to  be  a  "star  of  ill-luck"  to  the  Jewish 
people.-'     "Like  one  who  wanders  in  the  dark  night,  now 
and  then  kindling  a  light  to  brighten  up  his  path,  only  to 
have  it  again  and  again  extiniiui>he<l  by  the  wind,  until  at 
last  he  resolves  to  wait  patiently  for  the  break  of  day  when 
he  will  no  longer  require  a  light,"  so  were  the  people  of  Israel 

>  Ket.  111-112;   comp.  Irenacu- :   .Vlver.  Ilacrcs.  V,  32. 
2  Sec  i:kah.  K.  11,  2  ;  J.  E.,  art.  Bar  Kokba. 

2C 


1  * 


!*'  t  "* 


li 


386 


JFAVISH  TIIKOLOOV 


with  their  woul(i-bc  deliverers,  who  iippearcd  from  time  to 
time  to  delude  their  hopes,  until  they  exchiimed  at  last : 
"In  Thy  li^'ht  alone,  O  Lord,  wc  behold  liKht."  '  Samuel 
the  Babylonian,  of  the  third  century,  in  opposition  to  the 
Messianic  visionaries  of  his  time,  declared:  "The  Messianic 
age  differs  from  the  present  in  nothing  except  that  Israel 
will  throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  nations  ami  regain  its  political 
independence."-  Another  sag-:  said:  "May  the  curse  of 
heaven  fall  upon  those  who  calculate  the  date  of  the  advent 
of  the  Messiah  and  thus  ere;  ' ;  political  and  social  unrest 
among  the  people!"'  A  third  declared:  "The  Messiah 
will  appear  when  noljody  expects  him."  *  Most  remarkable 
of  all  is  the  bold  utterance  of  Rabbi  Hillel  of  the  fourth 
century,  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  great  master  Hillel  and 
the  originator  of  the  present  Jewish  calendar  system.  In  all 
likelihood  many  of  his  contemporaries  were  busy  calculating 
the  advent  of  the  Messianic  time  according  to  the  number 
of  Jubilees  in  the  world-eras,  whereupon  he  said:  "Israel 
need  not  await  the  advent  of  the  Messiah,  as  Isaiah's  proph- 
ecy was  ful filled  by  the  appearance  of  King  Hezekiah."  ^ 

8.  Throughout  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  political  or 
national  hopes  rose  high,  we  find  various  Messianic  move- 
ments in  both  East  and  West  revived  by  religious  aspirations. 
But  Maimonides,  the  great  rationalist,  in  his  commentary 
on  the  Mishnah  and  in  his  Code,  formulated  a  Messianic 
belief  which  was  quite  free  from  mystical  and  supern:iturai 
elements.  His  twelfth  article  of  faith  declares  that  "the 
Jew,  unless  he  wishes  to  forfeit  his  claim  to  eternal  life  by 
denial  of  his  laith,  must,  in  acceptance  of  the  teachings  of 
Moses  and  the  prophets  down  to  Malachi,  believe  that  the 
Messiah  will  issue  forth  from  the  house  of  David  in  the 
person  of  a  descendant  of  Solomon,  the  only  legitimate  king ; 


|)  ' 


\■^^^ 


^  Pesik.  144  a,  b. 
*  Sunh.  0''  3.. 


'  Ber.  34  b. 


'  Sanh.  97  b. 
5  Sanh.  08  b. 


0 


i-, 


>^:jtM 


THE  MESSIANIC   HOPE 


3S7 


jmd  he  shall  far  excel  all  rulers  in  history  by  his  reign,  glorious 
in   justice   and   peace     Neither    impatience   nor   deceptive 
calculation  of  the  time  of  the  advent  of  the  Messiah  should 
shatter  this  belief.     Still,  notwithstanding  the  majesty  and 
wisdom  of  the  Messiah,  he  must  be  regarded  as  a  mortal 
being  like  any  other  and  only  as  the  restorer  of  the  Davidic 
dynasty.     He  will  d'e  and  leave  a  son  as  his  successor,  who 
will  in  his  turn  die  and  leave  the  throne  to  his  heir.     Nor  will 
there  be  any  material  change  in  the  order  of  things  in  the 
whole  system  of  nature  and  human  life;  accordingly  Isaiah's 
picture  of  the  living  together  of  lamb  and  wolf  cannot  be 
taken  literally,  nor  any  of  the  Haggadic  sayings  with  refer- 
ence to  the  Messianic  time.     We  are  only  to  believe  in  the 
coming  of  Elijah  as  a  messenger  of  peace  and  the  forerunner 
of  th'    Messiah,  and  also  in  the  great  decisive  battle  with 
the   li..  ts   of   heathendom   embodied    in    Gog   and    Magog, 
through  whose  defeat  the  dominion  of  the  Messiah  will  be 
permanently  established."     "The  Messianic  kingdom  itself," 
continues  Maimonides  with  reference  to  the  utterance  of 
Samuel  quoted  above,  "is  to  bring  the  Jewish  nation  its 
political  independence,  but  not  the  subjection  of  all  the  heathen 
nations,  nor  merely  material  prosperity  and  sensual  pleasure, 
but  an  era  of  general  affluence  and  peace,  enabling  the  Jewish 
people  to  devote  their  lives  without  care  or  anxiety  to  the 
study  of  the  Torah  and  universal  wisdom,  so  that  by  their 
teachings  they  may  lead  all  mankind  to  the  knowledge  of 
God  and  make  them  also  share  in  the  eternal  bliss  of  the 
world  to  come."  ' 

9.  Against  this  rationalized  hope  for  the  Messiah,  which 
merges  the  national  expectation  into  the  universal  hope  for 
the  kingdom  of  God,  strong  objections  were  raised  by  Abra- 
ham ben  David  of  Posquieres,  the  mystic,  a  fierce  opponent 

»  Commentary  to  Sanh.  X;  Yad,  H.  Mclakim,  XI-XII;  //.  Teshubah 
VIII-IX. 


,i' 


N 


N  i 


388 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


i.»   I 


\U  ■ 


of  Maimonldes,  who  referred  to  various  Biblical  and  Tal- 
mudical  passages  in  contradiction  to  this  view.'  Ou  the 
other  hand,  Joseph  Albo,  the  popular  philosopher,  who  was 
trained  by  his  public  debates  against  the  representatives  of 
the  Church,  emphasized  especially  the  rational  ( 'mracter 
of  the  Jewish  theology,  and  declared  that  the  Messianic  hope 
cannot  be  counted  among  the  fundamental  doctrines  of 
Judaism,  or  else  Rabbi  Hillel  » ould  never  have  rejected 
it  so  bo'dly.'-' 

On  this  point  we  must  consider  the  fme  observation  of 
Rashi  that  Hillel  denied  only  a  personal  Messiah,  but  not 
the  coming  ol  .    Messianic  age,  assuming  that  God  himself 
will  redeem  Isf.t.'l  and  be  acknowledged  everywhere  as  Ruler 
of  the  world.     As  a  matter  of  fact,  too  much  ditTerence  of 
opinion  e.xisted  among  the  Tanaim  and  Amoraim  on  the 
personality  of  the  Messiah  and  the  duration  of  his  reign  to 
admit  of  a  detinite  article  of  faith  on  the  ciuestion.     The 
expected  Messiah,  the  heir  of  the  Davidic  throne,  naturally 
embodied  the  national  hope  of  the  Jewish  people  in  their 
dispersion,  when  all  looked  to  Palestine  as  their  lard  and 
to  Jerusalem  as  their  political  center  and  rallying  point  in 
days  to  come.     Traditional  Judaism,  awaiting  the  restoration 
of  the  Mosaic  sacrificial  cult  as  the  condition  for  the  return 
of  the  Shckinah  to  Zion,  was  bound  to  persist  in  its  belief 
in  a  personal  Messiah  who  would  restore  the  Temple  and 
its  service. 

10.  .\  complete  charge  in  the  religious  aspiration  of  the 
Jew  \v,i  ])r<)Ught  about  b\  the  transformation  of  his  political 
status  aud  hopes  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The  new  era 
witnessed  his  admission  in  many  lands  to  full  citizenship  on  an 
equality  with  his  fellov.  -citizens  of  other  faiths.  He  was  no 
longer  distinguished  from  them  in  his  manner  of  speech  and 
dress,,  nor  in  hi>  mode  of  (  lucation  and  thought ;  he  therefore 


r^wic:*  ui  r»..  .1.  ".  iJ'  t-^  ^Tiaiiuuut. 


« Ikkarim,  IV,  42. 


TIIK   MESSIANIC   IfOPK 


389 


necessarily   identified    himself   coniplelely    with    the   nation 
whose  lun^uage  and  literature  h;u    nurtured  his  mind,  and 
whose  political  and  social  destinies  he  ^hand  with  trui-  i)a- 
triotic  fervor.     He  stood  apart  from  the  re>t  only  hy  virtue 
of  his  religion,  the  great  spiritual  hrritage  of  his  hoary  past. 
Consecjuently  the  hope  voiced  in  the  Synagogal   liturgy  for 
a  return  to  Palestine,  the  formation  of  a  Jewi-h  St:itc  under 
a  king  of  the  house  of  David,  and  the  restoration  of  the  sacri- 
ficial cult,  no  longer  e.\i)ressed  the  views  of  the  Jew  in  Western 
civilization.     The   prayer    for    the    rebuilding   t)f   Jerusalem 
and  the  restoration  of  the  Temple  with  its  priestly  cult  could 
no   longer   voice   his   religious   hope.     Thus   the   leaders   of 
Reform  Judaism  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  iei\lury 
declared  themselves  unanimously  opposed   to   retaining   llie 
belief  in   i  personal  Messiah  and  the  political  restoration  ol" 
Israel,  either  in  doctriiw  or  in  their  liturgy.'     Tlies   accen- 
tuated all  the  more  strongly  Israel's  hope  for  a  Me-sianic 
age,  a  time  of  universal  knowledge  of  God  and  love  of  man. 
so  intimately  interwoven  with  the  religious  mission  of  the 
Jewish  people.     Harking  back  to  the    suffering    Ser\ant    of 
the    Lord    in    Deutero-Lsaiah,  they  transferred    the    title  of 
Messiah  to  the  Jewish  nation.     Reform  Judaism   has  thus 
accepted  the  belief  that  Israel,  the  suffering  Messiah  of  the 
centuries,  shall  at  the  end  of  days  becc)me  the  triumphant 
Messiah  of  the  natiuns.- 

II.  This  view  taken  by  reform  Judaism  is  the  logical  out- 
come of  the  political  and  social  emancipation  of  the  Jew  in 
western  Europe  and  America.  Xaturally,  it  had  no  appeal 
to  the  Jew  in  the  Eastern  lands,  where  he  was  kept  apart  by 
mental  training,  social  habits  and  the  discrimination  of  the 

'  '^ce  Philipson  :    Thr  Reform  Mo?n>:nit  m  Judaism,  n')  f. 

-  .Sw  Kinhorn  :  Sinai  I,  133  ;  Leopold  St-jin  :  .SV/;r;  /,  v  /.r/vw,  320,  336. 
For  the  term  Messiah  comp.  I's.  I.V,  15;  Hab.  Ill,  13;  also  Ps.  XXVIII, 
b,  LXXXIV,  io,  ;, XXXIX,  59,  ji- 


lt 


h 


390 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


\m. 


law,  so  that  he  regarded  himself  as  a  member  of  a  difTerent 
nutioniiHty  in  every  sense.  Palestine  remained  the  object 
of  his  hope  and  longing  in  both  his  social  and  religious  life. 
When  mtxiern  ideas  of  life  began  to  transform  the  religious 
views  and  habits  in  many  a  quarter,  and  terrible  persecutions 
again  aroused  the  K)nging  of  the  unfortunate  sufferers  for  a 
return  to  the  land  of  their  fathers,  the  term  Zionism  was 
coined,  and  the  movement  rapidly  spread.  It  expressed  the 
purely  national  aims  of  the  Jewish  people,  disregarding  the 
religious  aspirations  always  heretofore  connected  with  the 
Messianic  hope.  This  term  has  since  become  the  watchword 
of  all  those  who  hope  for  a  political  restoration  of  the  Jewish 
people  on  Palestinian  soil,  as  well  as  of  others  whose  longings 
arc  of  a  more  cultural  nature.  Both  regard  the  Jewish  people 
as  a  nation  like  any  other,  denying  to  it  the  specific  character 
of  a  priest-people  and  a  holy  nation  with  a  religious  mission 
for  humanity,  which  has  been  assigned  to  it  at  the  very 
beginning  of  its  history  and  has  served  to  preserve  it  through 
the  centuries.  On  this  account  Zionism,  whether  political 
or  cultural,  can  have  no  place  in  Jewish  theology.  Quite 
different  is  the  attitude  of  religious  Zionism  which  emphasizes 
the  ancient  hopes  and  longings  for  the  restoration  of  the 
Jewish  Temple  and  State  in  connection  with  the  nationalistic 
movement. 

12.  Political  Zionism  owes  its  origin  to  the  wave  of  Anti- 
Semitism  which  rose  as  a  counter-movement  to  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  Jew,  that  alienated  many  of  the  household  of 
Israel  from  their  religion.  Thus  it  has  the  merit  of  awaken- 
ing many  Jews  upon  whom  the  ancestral  faith  had  lost  its 
hold  to  a  sense  of  love  and  loyalty  to  the  Jewish  past.  In 
many  it  has  aroused  a  laudable  zeal  for  the  study  of  Jewish 
history  and  literature,  which  should  bring  them  deeper 
insight  into,  and  closer  identification  with,  the  historic  char- 
acter of  Israel,  the  suffering  Messiah  of  the  nations,  and 


THE   MESSIANIC   HOPE 


39 » 


thus  in  time  transform  the  national  Jew  into  a  nh'^iou^  Jew. 
The  study  of  Israel's  mighty  past  will,  it  is  hoped,  brinj?  to 
them  the  conviction  that  the  power,  the  hope  and  the  refuse 
of  Israel  is  in  its  God,  and  not  in  any  territorial  possession. 
We  require  a  regeneration,  not  of  the  nation,  but  of  the 
faith  of  Israel,  which  is  its  soul. 


u  I 


r! 


I'^i,:  ♦ 


ill  J    ' 

I' 


; 


i,     • 
i,.- 


t 


■I 


CHAPTKR   LIV 
Rksi'krk.ction,  ,\  National  Hope 

1.  Thi-  Jewish  hclii'f  in  rcsurrciliun  is  intinuitcly  bound 
up  with  ihi-  hopi'  for  the  restoration  t)l'  the  Israclitish  nation 
on  its  own  soil,  and  lonsi-tjucntly  rather  national;  indeed, 
ori'^inallv  purely  local  and  tcrrit(jrial.'  True,  the  rahhis 
justified  their  belief  in  resurrection  by  sueh  Si  riptural  verses 
us:  "I  kill  and  I  make  alive"'-'  and  "The  Lord  killeth,  and 
maketh  alive;  He  l)rinj,'eth  down  to  the  ^'rave.  and  brin^elh 
u[)."  '  Founded  on  such  passa>;es,  the  belief  would  have  to 
include  all  men,  and  could  be  confined  neither  to  the  Jewish 
people  nor  to  the  land  of  Judea.  However,  we  lind  no  trace 
of  such  a  belief  in  the  entire  Bible  save  for  two  late  post- 
exilic  passajje^  *  which  are  in  fact  apocalyptic,  beinj?  bused 
upon  earlier  prophecies,  and  themselves,  in  turn,  basic  to 
the  later  do^ma  of  the  Pharisees. 

2.  The  pic  lure  of  a  resurrection  was  hrst  drawn  l)y  the 
projihet  Hosea.  who  api)lic(l  it  to  Israel.  In  his  distress 
over  the  destin}-  of  his  people  he  says:  "Come,  and  let  us 
return  unto  the  Lord;  for  He  hath  torn,  and  He  will  heal 
U:^.  He  liatli  smitten,  and  He  will  bind  us  up.  After  two 
days  will  He  revi\e  us.  on  the  third  day  He  will  raise  us  up, 
that  we  ma\  li\e  in  His  presence."  '•"  Kzekiel's  vision  of  the 
dry  bones  unich  rose  to  a  new  life  under  the  mighty  sway 
of  the  spirit  of  (iod.''};ave  more  definite  shape  to  the  picture, 

'  See  J.  I"...  .Trf.  kcNiirrcction.  '  l)cut.  XXXII,  30;   see  Sifre  ■.d  loc. 

'  I  Sam.  II.  ();   set  .Midr.  Sh'muel,  ad  kic. 

♦Ki.  XXVI.  iq;    Dan.  XII,  i. 

'-  Huouu  VI,  I-;  ;    ^onip.  XIII,  14.  '  Ezck.  XXXVII,  I    14. 

392 


t  ,    "i 


Kt: 


SURRKCnoN,   A    NAIIOWL   IIOl'l. 


')\ 


although  it.  llu-  f..rm  of  allonory.     A.  the  pro,,lut  h.msd 
nays    he-  ainuil   to  .U>crihc   tlu-  ri>urm  ti.-n  oi   Ju-Uh   aii.l 
Israel   fn.m    their   K^ive   of   exile.     The   .-h^  ,,r..    Mr^Ma.nc 
prophecy   in    l.aiah.  ehapler.   WIV    to    XW  H.   strikes  a 
new  n..te.     Kir^t  the  author  (Ual.  uitli  the  I.  rril.le  slau^'hter 
whieh   (i.ul   will   inthet   upon   the  heathen,   att.r   uhieh      H' 
will  swallow  up  death  forever;    an.l  the  Lonl  t.o<l  will  wipe 
away  tears  from  olT  all  faces;   ami  the  repro.uh  -.1  ili^  people 
will  He  take  awav  fn»m  t.ff  all  tin-  earth. "  '      rinally.  when 
the  oppress<,rs  of  Israel  are  eompK-tely  annil,il..te.l,  e.x.  lawns 
the  seer-    "Thv  dea.l  shall  live,  thy  .lea<l  l)o.lies  shall  arise 
-  awake  and  s'inn.  ye  that  dwell  in  the  du^t        for  thy  dew 
is  a  fruelifvinK  <lew.  an.l  the  earth  shall  hrin^  to  hie  the 
shades"-^    'Daniel   speaks   in   a   similar   vein:     '"And    many 
of  them  that  sleep  in  the  .lust  of  the  .arth  shall  awake,  some 
to  cverlastin^^  life,  an.l  some  to  repr..aehes  and  .verlastmK 

abhorrence."  ^  ,     r    i  i 

3     In  this  h.)pe  for  resurrecti.m  at   the  ,nd  of  day-  th.- 
lea.linK    tlDU^ht    is    that    the    prophecie.    which    have    Ikcu 
unfulhlle.1  .lurin-  the  lifetime  ..f  the  ph.us.  and  paituular  v 
the  martyrs,  shall  be  reali/e.l  in  the  w..rld  to  come.'     I',  the 
oldest  apocalvptic  writin-s  this  life  .,f  the  future  i-  >till  con- 
ceived as  earthly  bliss,  inasmu.  h  as  the  writer,  think  otdy 
of  the  Messianic   time  of  nati.mal   ^lory.  .lepi.led   m   -uch 
jrlowing  cobrs  bv  the  pn.ph.ts.     Unboun.le.l  richne>>  of  the 
soil    and    numer.,us   .jfTsprin^;.    abun.lant    trea-ar.s    brought 
by    rem.^te   nations   an.l    their   rulers,    pea.  .■   an.l    happiness 
far  an.l  wi.le       such  are  the  characteristics  ..f  the  Me>Mamc 

Usa  XXVI  .0  Instcac!<.f"mv.lr.wll.-li'"-"'nthencwl!il.lotr.;n^lation, 
read  -'thy  -Icaci;'  an.l  instca.l  of  -li.hf  tran-!atc  or.,h,  alt.r  11  K,ng.  1\  ,  39, 
"  M,r  which  means  'Mew  ..!  r.viv..!  •' ;    ih.  la^t  is  aN..  a  r.ihb.nu  t.rn,. 

'  s!'!"!!  yii!r.  VIL  o-i6;  XII.  AS,  XIV,  4O ;  Sibyll.  II,  47;  Midr.  Teh. 
Ps.  XVII,  13. 


\U  il 


'    II 


;1 


i) 


Hi 


•TlijUfiiPinB» 


ill* 


'5  r 


!^' 


394 


JF.VVISH  TIIK()M)(;V 


age.  In  order  that  the  dcatl  may  shart-  in  all  this,  it  is  to  be 
precctlfd  hy  the  rcsurret  tion  and  the  great  Day  of  Juilf^mrnl 
in  the  valley  <»f  Jehoshaphat  or  (lehinnom  ((iehenna),  where 
the  righteous  are  to  he  Ningleij  out  to  partiii|»ate  in  the  realm 
of  the  Messiah,'  As  a  national  prospect  the  Messjanie 
hope  was  based  upon  the  passage  in  Deutero-Isaiah  :  "Thy 
pet)ple  alx)  shall  Ik*  all  righteou>,  they  shall  inherit  the  land 
forever."  ^  Consequently  an  ant  ient  Mishnah  taught  that 
■'All  Israel  shall  have  a  share  in  the  world  to  a)me."'  In 
fad,  the  term  "inherit  the  land"  was  used  u  .  late  as  the 
Mishnah  to  e.xpress  the  idea  of  sharing  in  the  future  lite;  so 
also  in  the  New  Testament,  where  the  resurrection  was  ex- 
pected before  the  coming  of  the  king(U)m  of  the  Messiah.* 

4.  The  logical  assumption  was,  ac.'ordingly,  that  only 
the  dead  of  the  holy  land  should  enjoy  the  resurrection. 
The  prophetic  verses  were  » ited  :  "I  will  set  glory  in  the 
land  of  the  living,"*  and  "He  that  giveth  breath  to  the 
people  u[M)n  it,  and  spirit  o  them  that  walk  therein,"  *  and 
were  interpreted  in  the  sense  that  (i«)d  would  restore  the 
breath  of  life  only  to  those  buried  in  the  holy  land.^  Like- 
wise the  verse  of  the  F'salmist.  "I  shall  walk  before  the  Lord 
in  the  land  of  the  living,"  was  referred  to  Palestine,  as  the 
land  where  the  dead  shall  awaken  to  a  new  life.*  Hence 
the  rabbis  held  the  strange  belief  that  when  the  great  heavenly 
trumpet  is  sountled  to  summon  all  the  tribes  of  Israel  from 
the  ends  of  the  earth  to  the  holy  land,®  those  who  have  been 
buried  outside  of  Palestine  must  pass  through  cavities  under 
the  earth,  until  they  reach  the  soil  where  the  miracle  of  the 

>  Sec  J.hI  IV,  2:   Krub.  k,  a,  rtf.  to  Is:i.  XXXI.,  9;   Enoch  XXVIII,  i. 
>Isii.  I.X,  21.  >Sanh.  X,  i. 

*  Kid.  I,  to;   .Matt.  V,  5,  ref.  to  IN.  XXXVII,  11  ;    Enoch  V,  7. 

>■  Ezek.  XX\  I,  10.  •  Is.1.  XI.II,  5.  '  Kcth.  ma. 

•  Ps.  CXVI,  0;    Ver.  Kcth.  XII,  n  I);    IV^k    R,  I,  2  h 

'  Bcr.  ;:;  h;  .Mph.-thrt  r;.  R.  .'vkib.i  :-.  Jillinck,  B.  H.  Hi,  ji ;  Targum 
Ycr.  to  E.X.  XX,  15 ;   I  Cor.  XV,  52. 


RKsiRRFc  rn)V   A  wriowi.  lion: 


^o"; 


resurrrctiim  will  »h-  juifortm*!  '  It  h.iv  tlu-rcfurf.  iM-ronu- 
a  custom  of  the  pious  am»»nK  ihr  Orth-Ml.ix  to  ilii>»  viry  «lay, 
in  cast-  Ihcy  omM  n.it  Imry  tlu-  >Ua>\  in  I'.il.Miti.-,  t..  put 
•  lu-^t  of  thf  holy  l.m.l  lumath  ih.ir  h.i.l.  that  ihty  iniuhl 
iiriM*  wlur<\«r  ituy  wtrc  hurinl 

5.    \VV  may  taki-  it  for  KraiHid  that  tlii-.  naiw  ...ntrplion 
„f   thf   risurmtion   (ould    not    hr   p.rman.nt.   an.l    >o   wan 
modilicl  to  indudi-  ;'  douhh-  n^urm  lion  :   thr  lir.t,  naii..nal, 
t..  u>lur  in  the  Mos>ianir  kinjjdom.  ai».l  ih.-  otlur,  iiniv.r>al. 
to  usher  in  the  everla>tinn  lite  of  the  future,      Ihr  luriner 
offered  >eant  r.H.m  for  the  heathen  w..rl.l,  at  l.e^t  oriU    lor 
those  who  had  actually  joine<l  the  ranks  of  Judaism;    the 
latter.   h.)wever.    im  luded    the   last    ju<knienl    lor   all   ^ouN 
and  thus  opened  the  way  for  the  >alvati.,n  of   the  rinhUou-i 
amonK  the  nations  as  well  as  the  j)eople  of  Krael.     At  this 
pt)int  the  eoneeplion  of  resurrection  led  to  higher  and  m.)re 
spiritual  ideas,  as  has  been  shown  in  Chapter  XLIII. 

6.  However,  the  belief  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 
though  expressed  in  the  am  lent  liturgy,  i-  in  su.  h  utter 
contradiction  to  our  entire  attitude  tow.ird  both  sc  ience  and 
religion,  that  it  may  be  considered  obsolete  f  .r  the  mo.hrn 
Jew.  Orthodoxy,  which  dings  to  it  in  formal  loyalty  to 
tra.lition.  reganjs  it  as  a  mirac  le  which  (io<l  will  perform  in 
the  future,  exactly  like  the  many  Hiblii  al  mirai  les  which 
defy  reason. 

7.  The  Zionist  movement  has  given  many  Jews  a  new 
attitude  toward  the  national  resurrection  of  I-rael.  The 
nationalists  expect  the  Jewish  nation  to  awaken  from  a 
sleep  of  eighteen  hundred  year,  to  new  grratness  in  its 
ancient  home,  not  as  a  reli-iou<,  but  as  a  political  body,  and 
in  renouncing  all  allegiance  t..  the  prie=tly  mission  of  Israel  and 
its  ancestral  faith  they  are  as  remoli-  from  genuine  Orthodoxy 
as  from  Reform  Judaism.     They  assert  that  the  soul  of  the 

>  Kcth  I.  c. 


it' 


111 


-» I 


'I 


^ 


1:; 


«« 


i'*^ 


hi 


i     f  * 
■  i  « 


l> 


=< .  n 


i-.i 


t  i.  : 


iru 


iU 

^^:l 


,^«>^> 


jKwisii  rnt,()i.o{;Y 


Jrwinh  |H'(i|)U-  n-'juiri"*  a  rtaiiunal  iMwIy  riM)ti*(i  In  il»  amirnt 
soil  in  oTik't  that  it  may  fiiltili  it^  appuinlnl  ta^k  umotiK  tiie 
nation^;  thi'\  cvrn  go  v»  fir  a-*  to  lU-tlarc  all  thr  uihlrve- 
nii-ntH  hroiiK'ht  alntut  hy  tl)i>  a'^^^iniilatiun  of  the  lulturc  of 
thf  'irroutulinn  nation^  in  Iw  a  ilrtcrioration  of  the  Kfiuirir 
ill.  t»T  of  tlir  J<  wish  nation  I'hr  fai  t  i'*  that,  a-*  in  nature 
thiTf  in  nowhrrr  a  rf>»urr»'t  tion  of  tin-  dtatl  but  an  fvi-r  rr- 
ni'wnl  rj'KiniTation  of  life,  so  is  ihr  history  «»•  tin-  Jfw  an«l 
of  Judaism  a  rontinuou-*  prcMi^s  «if  ri'KiinTation  manifrstfil 
at  «v«ry  y.-at  turriinn  point  of  history,  whi-n  thr  iilra>*  and 
(iiltural  rli-nunts  of  a  n»'w  livih'/ation  fxrrl  thtir  povvt-rful 
inlluintr  on  life  and  thought.  Thrr*-  nivt-r  was,  nor  will  be 
an  fxriusivcly  Jfwi>h  (ulturtv  It  is  tlu-  wondrous  |M(Wfr  of 
assimilation  of  th*  Jfw  which  cvir  i  rratfd  and  fashioned 
his  lulturr  anew.  That  wliith  constitutes  the  peculiarity 
of  the  Jew  and  his  life  fon  e  is  his  religion  fostered  through 
the  ages,  presi-rved  amidst  the  most  antagonistic  influences 
an<i  ..» 'tile  eiuironments,  an«l  ever  rejuvenated  by  its  uninue 
universalistic  spirit  when  revived  by  contact  with  kin<lied 
movements.  To  maintain  and  f)ropagate  this,  his  religion 
in  all  lands  and  amicNt  all  civilizations,  is  the  task  assigned 
to  him  by  I'rovi<Kn»c,  until  (iinl's  Kingdom  has  been 
established  all  over  the  globe. 


I#V   .  .  . 


3 


(HM'Tr.R   lA' 
IsRAri.  AM)  Till.  llK\rii»N  N'ai.ovh 

,.    As  thcTi-  h  l.ul  uno  ("nator  .u..l  kul.r  ..f  tli.-  nniv.THr, 
so  tluTv  I.  Iu'(..r<-  lliin  Iml  on.  Iiuminily.     All  tl.r  nUin..^  ..rr 
un.ltT  Hh  Kiii.lamr.  whiU-  l^rail,  lli^  <  Iimmh  |k..,,|...  pomts 
I.,  thf  kingdom  of  (i.nl  whuh  i-  to  .  mWra..   tlum  all       hrai  I 
wa.  rallr.l  ihr  -ri.^t  horn  ...n"  of  (i.-l  '  at  llu'  s.r>   motn.  nt 
of  hh  lUttion.   implyinn  ll'-il    all  ll..-  M,n,  ol    in.  n  ar.'   Hi. 
ihil.lrcn.     All  of  tlum  arr  \\nk>  in  ihr  .livin.'  pin.  .-t  salva- 
tion.    In  thf  >anu-  M-nst-  Cio.l  S>..k.-  thro.i^il.  haial.     "•  HI.  ^m  .1 
be  Kny!>t    Mv  pf'M.I.-.  an.l  Assyria  tlu-  w..rk  ..i   M>    Itan.h, 
ami  Israel  Mine  inluritaiue."  ^     A.  the  l.rM  pa.-.-  ..t  S.  ripture 
assigns  a  ...nim..n  ..ri^^in  to  them  all  in  the  t.r^l  .nan    -..  tlu- 
pr..|)het^  tell  us    at   the  en.l  ..f  time  they  ^hall  all  he  t.lle.l 
with  longinn  f..r  the  one  (lo.l  ami  f..rm  with  Israel  ..n.   eom- 
munitv  on  earth,  a  gr.at   l.r,.lherh.M..l  of   n.an   .ervin^   the 
u.mmon  Father  aln.ve.'     Still,  the  a.tual  w.rl.l  h.^an.  m.t 
with  the  unitv.  hut  with  the  wi.le  .liv.r-ily   an.l  .hi.er.u.n 
of  mankiml.    'The  i.lea  of  the  unil.    of  man  .  ame  a^  a  c.r- 
ullary  to  the  kin.lre.l  eiMueplion  ..f  tlie  unity  ..t  (n..l,  alter  a 
lonji  historical  pr.u  ess. 

Ju^t  as  the  creation  of  the  vv..rl.l  ol-en^  with  th.-  M-paration 
of  li«hl  from  darkness,  m.  th.-  imne^.  ..I  the  spiritual  am" 
moral  .leveh.pm.nt  of  mankin-l  he-in^.  a.eor.hnu  t..  the 
divine  plan  of  salvation,  will.  Wu-  -.paration  ..I  I>rael  fr..m 
the    heathen        -.ion..^     'Die    ^harp.r    tlie    contract    became 

mC,  XuY'4;  XI.V.  .r,  I.I.  ;;  /'I'h  HI..);  /.ch.  VIII,  .-.,  XIV.  9. 

.,  I.   ...    vv     .,.^,         ,,itiu.    (iin.  k.  11.  4  ;    III.  10. 


3 


u 


'•  if '  u 

!"■*  J    '. 


-V. 


1  !• 

'Hi 


1 


n 


^r 


JEWISH   THKOmClY 

between  the  sj)iritual  (itxl  of  Israel  and  the  mule  sensual 
gods  of  heathendom,  the  wider  grew  the  c^  •-•  .  i\twctn 
Judaism  and  heathenism,  between  Israel  ai  1  ilic  nali  »ih. 
As  Hght  is  opposed  to  darkness,  so  Israel's  i;  i  -t(u>d  (,[.- 
posi'd  to  the  idol  'ry  of  the  nations,  until  ("l.ii;  .iaiv'v  anci 
Isiam,  its  daughter-reli^dons,  j'rose  between  the  two  ex- 
tremes. Henceforth  Israel  waits  with  still  more  contklcnce 
for  the  age  whose  dawning  will  bring  th»-  full  knowledge  of 
(iod  to  all  mankind,  leading  the  world  from  the  night  of  error 
and  di .( ord  to  the  noi<n-day  brightness  of  truth  and  unity, 
when  a  universal  monotheism  will  make  all  humanity  one. 

2.  Nothing  was  more  remote  from  ancient  Israel  than 
the  hatred  of  the  stranger  or  hostility  to  other  nations,  so 
often  attributed  to  it.'  In  the  time  of  the  patriarchs  ami 
under  the  n  jiiarihy,  the  Hebrews  fostered  a  spirit  of  friendly 
intercourse  with  their  neighbors,  which  was  often  contirmed 
by  peaceful  alliances.'-  Of  course,  during  war  time  the  spirit 
of  hostiHty  had  full  sway,  particularly  as  ancient  warfare 
imposed  a  relentless  ban  upon  both  booty  and  human  life 
among  the  vanquished.  But  even  then  the  kings  of  Israel 
were  called  compassionate  also  toward  their  enemies  when 
compared  with  other  rulers.^  Indeed,  the  code  of  Israel  is 
distinguished  from  all  other  codes  of  antiquity  by  mildness 
and  tender  compassion.  On  the  other  hand,  the  God  of 
justice,  revealed  through  Amos,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  Habak- 
kuk,  punishes  Israel  and  the  nations  imi)artially  on  account 
of  their  moral  transgressions.''  He  avenges  acts  of  treachery, 
even  when  committed  against  pagan  tyrants.  ''Shall  not 
the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  justly  ?  "  ^  Such  is  the  recurrent 
thought  that  governs  Isiaei,  demanding  the  same  standard 
judgment  for  Israelite  and  stranger. 

'  •  ■  "icr,  1.  c,  57-7g.         2  Gen.  XIV   13  ;  XXI,  i2.  >  I  Kings  XX,  31. 

.i  I-II ;  Isa.  XXIX-XXXIIl ;  Jer.  X-XV  f. ;  Hab.  I. 
'Gen.  XVIir  ?;. 


!  ,■   ( 


ISRAKL   AND   THE   IIEATIirN    NATIONS 


309 


3.   The   simple   sense   of   justice   Inlierent    in    the   Jewish 
people   admits   so   little   difference  between   our   «)wn    Ci.xl- 
consciousness  and  that  of  others,  that   Scripture  represents 
the  Philistine  Kinp  /Vhimelech  as  receiving  a  warning  from 
Abraham's  (lod  JIIVH.'     As    the    Bible  holds  up  Job,  the 
Bedouin  Sheik,  as  the  pattern  of  a  blameKss  servant  of  Clod 
and  true  lover  of  mankind,'^  so  the  Talmud  cites  the  Philistmc 
Dama  ben   Nethina  as  an  example  of   filial   l>iety.^     Alto- 
^'ether.  the  merits  of  the  heathen  receive  their  full  measure 
(,f  appreciation  throughout  Jewish  literature.'  even  though  a 
narrow  dissenting  view  occurs  now  and  then.' 

4.   Still  from  the  very  beginning  a  tendency  to  relentless 
harshness  existed  in  one  direction,  when  the  pure  worship  of 
Israel's  one  and  only  God  was  endangered.     The  early  B(H)k  of 
the  Covenant  forbade  every  alliance  with  idolatrous  nations," 
and  the  Deuteronomic  Code  made  this  more    stringent   by 
prohibiting  intermarriage  and  even  the  toleration  of  idolaters 
in  the  land,  lest  they  seduce  the  people  of  God  to  turn  away 
from  Him.''    The  Pharisean  leaders,  the  founders  of  Rabbinism, 
went  still  further  by  placing  an  interdict  upon  eating  with 
the  heathen  or  using  food  and  wine  prepared  by  them,  thus 
aiming  at  a  complete  separation  from  the  non-Jewish  world.'' 
The  contrast  between  Judaism  and  heathenism  was  further 
heightened  by  the  view  of  the  prophets  and  psalmists 
ing   that  the  great   nations  were  the  very   embodim.    .^  of 
idolatrous  iniquity,  murderous  violence  and  se.xual  impurity, 
a  world  of  arrogance  and  pride,  defying  (iod  and  doomed 
to  perdition,   because   they   opposed   the   kingdom   of   God 
proclaimed  by  Israel.^     Henceforth  the  term  "the  nations" 


» Gen.  XX,  3 
'  Kid.  31  a, 


2  Job  XXXI. 

<  Top.  Sanh.  XIII,  2;  H.  B.  10  b. 


»  See  Lazarus :   Ethics,  40  anri  appendix. 


=  Kx   XXIII,  J2. 


'  Deut.  VII,  2  ;  XX.  .6  f.  '  Shab.  27  b;  Jubil.  XXII,  .6. 

9Isa.  LX,  12;   LXIII,  6;  LXVI,  14  f  ■ ;  Zech.  XIV,  2  f. ;    Joel  IV,  9-19; 

Jcr.  X,  -y.  V-  rX,  ■.(>,  iS,  20;  X.  .7. 


II 


■mm 


ml 


5     f        I 


;  n  ■ 


400 


JEWISH  THKOL(    .Y 


(jroyim)  was  taken  by  the  religious  as  meaning  the  wicked 
ones,  who  wi  M  not  be  able  to  stand  the  divine  judgment 
in  the  future  life,  but  would  go  down  to  Sheol,  or  Gehenna, 
to  fall  a  prey  to  everlasting  corru[)tion,  to  the  fire  that  is 
never  quenched.' 

5.    Yet  such  a  wholesale  condemnation  could  not  lv)ng  be 
maintained ;    it  was  too  strongly  contradicted   in  principle 
by  the  prophets  and   Psalmists,  and  quite  as  mu(  h  by  the 
apocalyptic    writers    and    Haggadists   of    later    times.     The 
book  of  Jonah  testifies  that  Israel's  God  sent  His  prophet 
to  the  heathen  of  Nineveh  to  e.xhort  them   to    repentance, 
that   they  might   obtain   forgiveness  and   salvation  like   re- 
pentant Israel.-'     Heathenism  is  doomed   to  perish,  not  the 
heathen;    they  are  to  acknowledge  the  heavenly  Judge  in 
their   very  puni  hments  and   return   to   Him.     Such  is   the 
conclusion  of  all  the  exhortations  of  the  jirophets  predicting 
punishment  to  the  nations.     Moreover,  those  heathen  who 
escape  the  doom  of  the  world-powers  are  to  proclaim  the 
mighty  deeds  of  the  Lord  to  the  utmost  lands.     Nay,  ac- 
cording to  the  grand   vision  of  the  exilic  seer,   among  the 
many  nati;)ns  that  shall  assemble  at  the  end  of  days  to  wor- 
ship the  Lord  in  Zion.  select  ones  will  be  admitted  to  the 
priesthood   with   the   sons   of   Aaron.'     The   name   Iladrak, 
understood    as    "he    who    bringeth    back,"    suggested    itself 
to  the  rabbis  as  a  title  of  the  Messiah,  the  converter  of  the 
heathen  nations.'     So  in  both  the  Talmud  and  the  Sibylline 
books  •'  Noah  is  represented  as  a  preacher  of  repentance  to 
the  nations  before  the  flood,  and  accordingly  the  latter  book 
adjures  the  Hellenic   world   to   repent  of   their  sinful  lives 
before  they  would  be  overwhelmed  by  the  flood  of  fire  at  the 
great   judginent   day.     In   the   same   spirit   the   Haggadists 
tell  that  God  sent   Balaam,  Job,    and  other  pious  men  as 

1  Tos.  Sanh   XIII,  2.  =  Jonah  Ill-fV.  '  I^.  I.XVI,  i(j-2i. 

<  Zech.  IX,  I  ;   Cant.  R.  VII,  10.  '  ijanh.  108  a;  Sibyll.  I,  129  *■ 


ISRAKL   AM)    IHi:   UKAIUKN    NATIONS 


401 


bo 


prophets  of  the  heathen  to  teaeh  them  the  way  of  rep'Titancc' 
And  the  rabhis  actually  say  hal,  if  the  heallien  nations  had 
not  refused  the  'Forah  whe.  the  Lord  olTered  it  to  them  at 
Sinai,  it  would  have  been  the  common  property  of  all  man- 
kind.'' 

6.    The  leading  minds  of  Judaism   fdt   only  [)ity  for  the 
blind  obstinacy  of  the  ^reat  mass  of  heathen,  who  worshiped 
the  creatures  instead  of  the  Creator,  or  the  stars  of  heaven 
i.  itead   of  Him   who  is  enthroned  above  the  skies.     They 
re^ardefl    heathenism   either   as   evidence   of    spiritual   want 
and  weakness,  or  as  the  result  of  destiny.     Indeed,  the  words 
of   the   Deuteronomist   sound    lil^e   an    echo   of    Babylonian 
fatalism  when  he  asserts  that  Clod  himself  assi},med  to  the 
nations  the  wocship  of  the  stars  as  their  inheritance.'     Later 
the  opinion  gained  ground  that  the  heathen  deities  were  real 
demons,    holding   dominion   over    the    nations    and    leading 
them  astray.^     The  exilic  seer  attacked  idolatry  most  vigor- 
ously as  folly  and  falsehood,  and  thus  the  note  of  derision 
and  irov    is  stuck  by  Deulero-Isaiah,  the  Psalms,  and  in 
many  c  <"  the  propaganda  writings  of  the  Hellenistic  age,  in 
their  references  to  heathenism. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  very  significant  that  the  Palestinian 
sages  and  their  successors  condemned  heathenism  as  a  moral 
plague,  conducing  to  depravity,  lewdness,  and  bloodshed. 
They  regarded  the  powers  of  the  world,  especially  Edom 
(Rome),  as  being  under  the  dominion  of  the  Evil  One,  and 
therefore  doomed  to  perish  in  the  flames  of  Gehenna.  As 
they  rejected  the  Ten  Commandments  out  of  love  for  blood- 
shed, lust,  and  robber>-,  so,  according  to  the  Haggadists, 
they  will  be  unable  to  withstand  the  last  judgment  and  will 

>  B.  B.  IS  b;   Seder  (Mom  R.  XXI.  -  Mek.  Villiro  V;   .\b.  Z.  2  b-3  a. 

'Deut.    IV,  19;    XXIX,    25;    Jcr,    X,   16;    U.    Sira   XVIII,  17;    comp. 
Bousset,  1.  c.  350. 

'  Jubil.  XI,  3-5  ;  XIX,  20;  Enoch  XV ;  XIX ;  XCIX,  7 ;  see  Bousset,  1.  c, 

350-351- 


M, 


II 


•I  • 


if 


ill 


2D 


402 


JEWISH   THEOLOGY 


suffer  c'lcrnal  punishment.  Since  their  one  desire  was  to 
enjoy  the  life  uf  this  world,  tluir  lot  in  the  future  will  be 
Gehenna;  while  the  gates  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  will  be 
open  for  Israel,  the  people  oppressed  and  sorely  tried,  yet 
ever  faithful  to  the  covenant  of  Abraham.'  Of  course,  this 
view  implied  both  comfort  and  vengeance,  but  we  must  not 
forget  that  the  harsh  statements  contained  in  the  Talmud 
owe  their  origin  to  bitter  distress  and  cannot  be  considered 
Jewish  doctrines,  a^  unfriendly  critics  frequently  do.'- 

7.  As  has  been  shown  above,  the  dominant  view  of  the 
Synagogue  is  that  eternal  salvation  belongs  to  the  righteous 
among  the  nations  as  well  as  those  of  Israel.  In  this  sense, 
Psalm  IX.  18,  is  understood  to  the  effect  that  "all  those 
heathens  who  have  forgotten  God  will  go  down  to  the  nether 
world."  ^  One  of  the  sages  expresses  a  still  broader  view : 
"When  judging  the  nations,  God  determines  their  standard 
by  their  best  representatives."*  Many  rabbis  held  the 
belief  that  circumcision  -ecured  for  the  Jew  a  place  in  "Abra- 
ham's bosom"  while  the  uncircumcised  are  consigned  to 
Gehenna,  thus  assigning  to  ( ircumcision  a  corresponding  place 
to  that  of  baptism  in  the  Christian  Church.  This  belief 
seems  to  be  basetl  upon  a  passage  in  Ezekiel,  where  the 
prophet  speaks  of  the  arclim,  or  "uncircumcised,"  as  dwell- 
ing in  the  nether  world. '^  But  a  number  of  passages  in  the 
Talmud,  especially  in  the  Tosefta,"  show  that  circumcision 
was  not  believed  to  have  the  power  to  save  a  sinner  from 

'  Yeb.  oS  a,  ref.  to  Kzek.  XXIII,  20;  .Ah.  Z.,  1.  c.  In  this  sense  wc  must 
take  the  Talniuilic  passage:  "Israel  are  really  men,  not  the  heathen,"  Yeb. 
61  a;  B.  M.  114  b;  B.  B.  16  b;  whereas  the  passage,  Lev.  XVIII,  5,  "which 
man  doth  to  live  thereby,"  is  declared  to  include  all  who  observe  the  laws  of 
humanity,  i'//Va  eodem;   Midr.  Teh.  Ps.  I.  1-2. 

'  Lazarus,  1.  c.,  49.  '  Tos.  Sanh.  XIII,  2.  ■•  Yer.  R.  Sh.  I,  57  a. 

'Ezek.  XXVTII,  10;  XXXI,  rS;  XXXII,  10-32.  Possibly  the  prophet 
in  speaking  of  arclim  had  in  .id  the  Babylonian  Arallii,  "the  nethtr-world  "; 
see  Kx.  R.  XIX,  5  ;  Gen.  R.  XL ;  VIII,  7  ;  Tanh.  Lek  Leka,  ed.  Bubcr,  27. 

'-  To£.  Sanh.  XIII,  4-3  ;  R-^sh  ha  Shnn^!,  t;  a. 


ISRAEL   AND   Till;   IILAIIIKN    NATIONS 


40,i 


Gehenna.  On  tlu'  otlu-r  hanti,  \vc  Ikuh'  the  ^Tcat  tiaihing 
of  R.  Johaiian  ))in  Zakkai  in  oppo^inj;  lii>  (li.^iiplc  Kliezer 
hen  Hyrtanus,  Icllinj^  that  the  ^acrilins  whit  h  iitoned  for 
the  sins  of  Israel  are  paralleled  hy  deiiU  <>f  l)eneve)lencc, 
,vhich  can  atone  for  the  sins  of  the  luathen.'  Both  the 
Talmud  and  I'hilo  state  that  the  seventy  hulloeks  which 
were  offered  up  during  the  seven  days  of  the  Fia>.t  of  Taber- 
nacles were  brought  by  Israel  as  sacrifices  for  the  seventy 
nations  of  the  world. - 

8.  Where  no  cause  e.visted  to  fear  the  intlueiuc  of  idolatry, 
friendly  relations  with  non-Jews  were  always  recommended 
and  cultivated.  A  non-Jew  who  devotes  his  life  to  the  study 
and  prac lice  of  the  law,  said  Rabbi  Meir.  is  ecjual  to  the  high 
priest;  for  Scripture  says:  "T'he  lavs  which,  if  a  man  do, 
he  shall  live  by  them,"  implying  th;.t  pure  humanity  is  the 
one  essential  retiuired  by  Ciod.'  Indeed,  Rabbi  Meir  injoyed 
a  close  friendship  witii  CEnomaos  ot  Gadara,'  a  heathen  phil- 
osopher spoken  of  aflmiringly  in  Talmudic  sources  and  placed 
on  a  par  with  Halaam  as  noble  representatives  of  heathendom. 
Obviously  this  good  opinion  was  held,  because  both  <pokc 
favor  U)ly  of  Judaism,  whose  "synagogues  and  schoolhouses 
formed  the  strongest  bulwark  against  the  attacks  of  Jew- 
haters."  Other  friendships  which  were  <lescribed  in  popular 
legends  and  held  up  as  e.xamples  for  emulation  are  those  be- 
tween Jehuda  ha  Nasi  and  the  Emperor  Antoninus  tSeven.is)  •' 
and  that  of  Samuel  of  Babyh  nia  with  Ablat,  a  Persian  sage." 

9.    The  Mosaic  and  Talmudic  law  prescribed  quite  dilTerent 
treatment   for    those    heathen    who   persisted   in    idolatrous 

>B.  B.  10  b;   A.d.  R.  \.  IV. 

'Suk.  55  b;    IVsik.   193  '■;   Philo;  \  ila  .Mosis,  2  l;   De  Spcei.il;  1,3;  II, 

104,   227,   2jH. 

'  Sifra,  .Vhare  Moth  13. 

*  Ocn.  R,  L;    l.XV,  16;   Ruth  R.  I.  8;  J.  !•:.,  art.  (Enomaos. 
'  J.  E.  art.  .\ntonlnus  in  the  Talmud;  Kraus:  Anloninus. 
«  AL>.  Z.  30  a. 


I  i 


ifl 

I 


m 


404 


JF.WISM   THKOLOdV 


•'•   I 


- 1,  f    g!     * 


'1" 


I 


practices  and  refused  to  observe  the  hiws  of  humanity,  called 
the  seven   Xoahitic   la\v>,  as  will    he    ircplaiiu'd    more    fully 
in  the  next  chapter      Xo  toleration  couM  l)e  },'rante(l  them 
within  the  ancient  jurisdiction ;    "Thou  shalt  show  them  no 
mercy"  was  the  phrase  of  the  law  for  the  seven  tribes  of 
Canaan,  and  this  was  applied  to  all  idolaters.'     Hence  Mai 
monides  lays  down  the  rule  in  his  Code  that  "wherever  and 
whenever   the    Mosaic   law   is   in   force,   the   |)eople   must   be 
compelled  to  abjure  heathenism  and  acte|)t  the  seven  laws 
of  Xoah  in  the  name  of  God,  or  else  they  are  doomed  to  die."  - 
On  the  other  hand,  in  the  very  same  Code,  Maimonides 
writes  in  the  spirit  of  Rabbi  Meir :    "Xot  only  the  Jewish 
tribe  is  sanctified  b>    the  hi<;hest  decree  of  human  holiness, 
but  every  human  beinj,',  without  dilTerence  of  birth,  in  whom 
is  the  sj)irit  of  love  and  the  power  of  knowledj^e  io  devote 
his  life  exclusively  to  the  service  of  Cod  and  the  dissemination 
of  His  knowledge,  and  who,  walking  uprightly  before  Him, 
has  cast  otT  the  yoke  of  thi-  many  earthly  desires  pursued 
by  the  rest  of  men.     (iod  is  his  portion  and  his  eternal  in- 
heritance, and  Cod  will  [)rt)vidc  for  his  needs,  as  He  did  for 
the  priest  and  the  Levite  of  yore."  ' 

10.  To  be  sure,  a  statement  of  this  nature  presents  a  ditTer- 
ent  judgment  of  heathenism  from  that  of  the  ancient  national 
law.  But  the  historical  and  comparative  study  of  religions 
has  caused  us  to  entertain  altogether  dil'ferent  views  of  the 
various  heathen  religions,  both  those  representing  primitive 
stages  of  childlike  imagination  and  superstition,  and  those 
more  developed  faiths  which  inculcate  genuine  ideals  of  a 
more  or  less  lofty  character.  Certainly  the  laws  of  Deuter- 
onomy, written  when  the  nation  had  dwindled  down  to  the 
little  kingdom  of  jU(LTa.  and  those  further  expounded  in  the 
Mishnah    enjoining    the    most    rigorous    intolerance    toward 


'  Dcut.  VH,  3;   Sanh.  57  a-so  b. 
^  il,  bhemilta  we  Vobci  Xlli,  13. 


*  H.  Melakim  VIII,  9-10. 


ISRAl 


L   AM)   Tin:   UKATHKN    NATIONS 


405 


every  vestige  .)(  l>;iKani>ni.  h;i.l  ..i.Iy  a  llu-orttical  vahu-  f.>r 
llu-  powi-rlrss  Jrwi.h   nation;    vvlnlr  Loth   thr  lluinh  and 
Uu-  rulrrs  of  Mam  wrrt-  lat^dy  Kui.h-.l  !.y  Hum  in  praclual 
moasuros.     Tin-   lli^^hor   view   ..f   Ju.lai.in   ua>  .xpn-.ol  by 
the  la.t   of  the  prophit.:  '"  Tor  from  ihr  riMM^  of   the  >un 
iven  unto  the  «oinK  .lovvn  of   the  sanir   M\    name   ..  Knat 
amonK  the  nations;    ami   in  every   \Amc  olTerin->  are  i.re- 
sente.l  unto  My  name,  even  pure  ohlation..  for  M>   name  is 
great  amonR  the  nations.'  .ailh  the  Lord  of  h  > >t>."  '     '1  he 
fact  is  that  heathenism  seek>  the  (lo.l  vvliom   Israel  hy  its 
revehition  has  fouml.     In  thi.  spirit  In.th  I'hilo  an.l  Jo-e|.hus 
took  the  Seriptural  passage,  '"I'hou  shalt   not  eur>e  do.l." 
taking  the  Hebrew  Eloliim  in  the  phiral  sen>e,  -the  go.ls    ; 
thus  they  said  a  Jew  must  n-.t  offend  the  religious  sen>e  ot 
the  heathen  l)y  seorn  or  ridicule,  however  eareful  h.-  must^ 
he  to  avoid  thJ  imitation  of  their  praeti.r.  and  super>lition>.- 
As  a  matter  of  faet,  the  t'ode  of  Law  aime.l  to  separate 
Israel  ami  the  nations  in  ..rder  to  avoid  the  i  rude  w..rdup 
„f    idols,    animals    ami   stars   praetieed   by    the    hiathen    ot 
antiquity.     Il    was    m)l    framed    for   masters   like    Suerales, 
Bu.ldha,  and   Confueiu..   with   their  lofty  moral   viru>  and 
their  elaims  upon  humanity.     The  (io.l  who  revealed  himself 
to  Abraham,  Job,  Km)ch,  ami  Balaam,  as  well  as  to  Muses  and 
Isaiah,  spoke  to  them  alM).  and  the  wise  ones  of  Israel  have 
ever  hearkened  to  their  inspiring  lessons.     Their  words  arc 
echoed  in  Jewish  literature  together  with  Sol-.mon's  words 
„f  wisdom.     Plato.  Plotinus.  and  Aristotle  received  the  most 
f:  icndly  hospitality  from  the  n.bbinie  philosophers  and  mystic 
writers  of  Jewry,  and  so  Buddhist  ^ayings  and  views  pene- 
trated into  Jewish  ethics  and  popular  teachings.     Both  the 


li 


I!  I 


I 


'Mai.  I,  II.  ,,        _.      „ 

=  Rx  XXII,  26;   I'hilo  II,  iW.;   Jo^ophus:   .-1h/.,  IV.S,  to;  Con.  Ap<n..  U, 

a:   comp.    Kohler:    "The   Ilahikk    Portions   in   Joscphus'   AntKiuiUf>,      in 

H.  U.  C.  Monthly  III,  ii7- 


4o6 


JKWISII   TIIKOUKiY 


3f  '•' 


!     > 


Jew  and  hU  litcra  arc  arc  i(ism()[><)litap  and  Judaism  never 
wilhhulds  its  appreciation  of  the  meriis  of  the  heathen  world.' 
II.  We  must  es|)eeially  emphasi/.e  one  thiim  of  the  Jewish 
people  above  other  nations  whii  h  the  rahhis  eall  zcktith  abolh, 
"the  merit  of  the  fatlurs,"  and  whieh  we  may  term  "heredi- 
tary virtue."  The  election  of  Israel,  in  s{)ite  of  its  own 
lack  of  merit,  is  deelared  in  Deuteronomy  and  elsewhere 
to  he  due  to  the  merit  of  the  fathers,  with  whom  liod  eon- 
eluded  I  lis  covenant  in  love.'-'  The  promise  is  often  repeated 
that  tiiMl  will  ever  rememlx-r  His  covenant  with  the  fathers 
and  not  let  the  people  perish,  even  though  their  sins  were 
great;  therefore  the  rabbis  assumetl  that  the  patriarchs  had 
accumulate<l  a  store  of  merit  by  their  virtues  which  would 
redound  before  God  to  the  benefit  of  their  descendants,  sup- 
plementing their  own  weaknesses.'^  This  merit  or  righteous- 
ness of  the  fathers  formed  a  prominent  part  of  the  hope  and 
prayer,  nay,  of  the  whole  theological  system  of  the  Jewish 
people.  They  regarded  the  patriarchs  and  all  the  great 
leaders  of  the  past  as  patterns  of  loyalty  and  love  for  (.lod, 
so  that,  according  to  the  Midrash.  Israel  might  say  in  the 
words  of  the  Shulamite :  "Black  am  I"  con  'cring  my  own 
merit,  "but  cnmiely"  when  considering  the  merit  of  the 
fathers.*  Whether  this  store  of  mtiit  would  ever  be  ex- 
hausted is  a  matter  of  controversy  among  the  rabbis.  Some 
referred  to  God's  own  words  that  He  will  ever  remember 
His  covenant  with  the  fathers;  others  {)ointed  to  the  verse 
in  Deuloro-Isaiah :  "For  the  mountains  may  depart,  and 
the  hills  be  removed  ;  but  My  kindness  shall  not  depart  from 

'  See  Mi'K.  i6  a;  J.  F.,  art.  .\ri^t,nlc;  \'cum.irk,  1.  c,  Index:  Aristoteles, 
Plato,  Plotin;  comp.  Bahya :  Uoboth  ha  LS.both,  and  other  medieval  phil- 
osophic works. 

-  Dcut.  IV,  ?7. 

»  Ex.  XXXIII,  12;  Lev.  XXVI,  42;  F.x.  R.  XLIV,  7-S;  Lev.  R.  XXXVi, 


*  Cant.  R.  I,  s. 


ISRAKI.  AND    rilK  IlKATlffiN   NATIDNS 


407 


Ihic,  niitlur  shall  My  covcuiint  of  |h\uc  be  rim<»ve(l,"  whiili 
tluy  iiitirpnlid   symholii ally  to  mr.in  :    wlu-n   llu-  mi-rit   .'f 
thi-  patriarih^  and  tn.itriarths  of  hrarl  i>  rxhau-tr<l.  Ciod's 
imny  a.ul  it.mpa^-ion  f.>r  Isrutl  will  lu-  then-  ru-v.r  to  de- 
part.'    Translatnl  into  «>ur  own  mo<l«-  of  thinking,  this  merit 
of  the  fathers  elaimed  f«)r  Israel  siKuilies  the  uid.iue  treasure 
ui  a  spiritual  inheritanc  e  whieh  helon^^  to  the  J<w.     This  in- 
heritance of  thousands  of  years  pruvid«s  ^uc  h  rare  examples 
and  such  hi^h  inspiration  that  it  inciter  to  the  hiKhest  virtue, 
the  firmest  loyalty,  ami  the  greatest  love  for  truth  ami  justice. 
Judaism,    knowing    no   su(  h    thinj?    ;is   original    sin.    points 
with  pride   instead   to  hereditary   virtue.  derivinK  an   inex- 
haustible source  (.f  blessing  from  its  historical  continuity  of 
four  thousand  years. 

'  U.i.  I.IV,  10;   Shut.    5S  a;   comi.   S.  Ilirs.h     "The  UiKlrine  of  Original 
Virtue"  in  Jew,  Lit.  Annual,  i'/35  i  iichcchter,  1.  c,  170  f. 


I 
i 

•i 


fit 


*  I, 


.11 


I 


rAT^  ^^\ 


C%i.-| 


'  zW  ' 


)^L.,.i^.wmi^£iSKmjiimmmm 


I,  i  I 


M/} 


CHAITI-R    lAI 
Tin:  SrKAsr.Kk  and  tuk  Pkoski.ytk 

1.  Am«)n«  all  tlu-  laws  of  \\w  M.)«^au  t'nd.-.  that  whuh  has 
no  i)aralkl  in  any  otlnr  ai\»  iiiit   khU-  is  thi-  oni-  i-njoininK 
just  ill',  kin.lniss  and  L.vi-  toward  the  slranni-r.     Thf  H.M)k  <•! 
tlu- 1  ovi-nant  ttai  hi-< :    "  And  a  slranmr  >halt  thou  not  wronm. 
ntithir  >hall  thou  oi»i>ri>->  him;    for  yr  wire  stranjit-rs  in  the 
land  of  Kuyi.t."'   and  "A  stran^-r  shall   thou   not  oppress; 
for  ye  kn.ivv  the  heart  of  a  >tran«er,  seeing  y<*  were  strangers 
in  the  land  ol  I'-^'vpt."      The  Deuteronomie  writer  lays  spec  ial 
stre>son  the  fat  t  that  Krarl-  (l.-d.  "who  rei^'ardeth  not  person-, 
nor  taketh  l.rihe^,  doth  execute  justice  for  the  fatherless  and 
the  wi.low,  and  loveth  the  ^tranwer,  in  nivin^  him  food  and 
raiment."     lie    then    eimiludcs:      "Love    ye    therefore    the 
stranger  ;   lor  ye  wire  stranj^ers  in  the  land  of  KKvpt."  ■     Tl'f 
Priestly  Code  K'h>  '^'i"  further,  «rantin«  the  slran^fr  the  same 
lej^al  protection  as  the  native.' 

2.  We  vvouM,  however,  misunderstand  the  spirit  of  ail 
anti(iuity,  ineUulini:  anrient  Israel,  if  we  eon>ider  this  us  an 
expression  of  univer>al  love  for  mankin<l  and  the  rec()K"iti<»ii 
of  every  human  beinj,'  as  fellow-man  and  brother.  Throughout 
antiquity  and  during;  the  semi-civili/.ed  Middle  .\j,'es.  a  stranger 
was  an  enemy  unles>  he  became  a  j;uest.  If  he  sought  protee 
lion  at  the  family  hearth  or  (in  the  Orient)  under  the  tent  of 
a  Sheik,  he  thereby  entered  into  a  tutelary  relation  with  both 
the  clan  or  tribe  and  its  deity.     After  entering;  into  such  a 


»  Ex.  XXII,  20;  XXIII,  9. 


»  Dcut.  X,  18-19.  »  Lev.  XIV,  22. 

408 


«.*-   S- 


TIIF.  SIR  A(;KR    \M»   MIK   I'kOSKI.VTI. 


4CX) 


relation,  t.m|M.r;irv   or  iM-rmamnt,  \u-  l.r.air-,  in  thr  iirm 
which  Ihf  Mo^.iii  law  um->,  in  iomtn..n  wilh  ihi-  ^;.nvral  Si-niitu 
ui^tom.  u  (,<f  ..r  /•..^/^//^  "  M.journir "  ..r  "M-uUr,"  .•n'.ilini 
to  fuU  proUTtion  '     Thi^  rrl..ti..n  of  ,|ri.,-n.ltn.  y  on  the  com 
munitv  i>  ouaMonally  ••xpn-.^nl  l.y  Hu'  t.r.n  :    "thy  Mran«.r 
liiat  i^  within  thy  haU-.."  '     Sn.  h  prololion  inipli.ci.  in  turn. 
that  the  (.rr  or  prol.iii  ow.-.i  an  ol.H'^alion  to  the  Iril..-  or  .  -ni 
miinity  whiih  shii-l.l.-.l  him      11.-  >too.l  luwUr  ihr  proitilion 
of   Ihi'  fril.ai   pxi.   frnin.nlly   a-nmni   lii^  tiinu.  an.l   ihu^ 
.larccl  not  violate  thr  law  of  tin-  lan.l  or  of  it>  .li-ity,  U>1  \w  tor- 
fi  it  his  ilaim  lo  proli.  lion 

^    In  ;uTor.lan.v  with  this  the  oft  riiH-ated  Mo^ai.    nvm 
nuin.l  for  lH-n.-v..lrn.r  toward  ih.-  stranKer.  whi.  h  pKue.l  him 
on   the  .ame   footing  with   the   needy   and   helpl.-.^,  imj-oM-.l 
.  rrtain  religious  ohli^ation^  upon  him.      Me  wa^  enjoined,  like 
the  I.raehte,  not  to  violate  the  .aiutilyof  the  S.ihbalh  1)>  labor, 
nor  to  provoke  (iod's  anser  hy  i.lolatrou.  pra.ti.e^.  and,  a. 
(online  to  the  Prie.tly  t'odi-.  to  avoid  the  ealin;;  .)f  l)K)od  aiid 
the  eontraitinK'  of  iiue^tuou-  marriai;e.  a-,  well  a-,  the  traiH- 
i^re^si.m  of  the  law.  for  Pas.over  and  the  Day  of  .\ton.-ment. 
Naturally,  in  crinn'nal  .  ase>  su*  h  a.  hla^phemy  he  was  suhjeet 
to  the  death  penally  ju-l  like  the  native.^     Still,  the  (irt  was 
not  arlmitted  as  a  eiti/.en.  and  in  the  Morale  system  of  law  he 
wa.  always  a  tolerated  or  protected  alien,  unless   he  under- 


'C;cn.  XXIII.  4;    Ixv    XX,   !;      Onili.ltrm 


ti.r  ..r  \V    K    Smith      riir 


R.n,n.„  o'fihr  Srmil,.,  75  IT. ;    lU-rll.ol.t      /'-,  Sl,lln„K  d.  h^.u  !,!•>,  ,nul  J  „d,n 

iSS;    Kill  vi  ,  nil)lii.i,  art. 


./- 


uinl.    2^,   i;.'^;    Sdiurnr. 


Ill,  i;;o  \> 


Str.inKiT  and  S<ij<purn( 
tutwiTn  tho   I'liuniri.ins  an 


str,in«iT 


C/x 


rnio'^) ; 


DiHtsi  hi-  RiiH(!m  Ii'I 


r;  I'hrvnr,  /i./w/./..»i  I.alnrrs,  iS,'^,,.  p.  |Jo.     I  onimcnc 

tfitcl  l>y  tlif  (inik  u'mI  of  the 

srr    Ilnrinn:     D    (i^i^tfr.nndu h.ifl    im    Mhrlliiim, 

I'hnni.  iaris  (U'vctopt'ii   the  O'-r 


I  (In  lis  w.i-^   pri 


//,     1SS7,    '.houill'.'    hnW    llu' 

I 


i'lca  in  the  .linction  "f  inti-rnalmn.ii  Kimimni 


iii't   a- 


tlic    lew--  (!fVfl'>()<-<l 


it   toward   iritfrnatiiinal   rcliKi' 
Lasv  Keviiw.  1,1.  p.  ,}Hi. 
2  !■.«    XX-  io. 


.n;  M. 


J.   Kohlir     "Kij;iito{    \>y!um  "  in  .\in. 


'Lev.  XVI.  2i);  XVII,  8-15; 


XVIII,  2<>;  XXIV,  i!^29. 


I 


'  * 


III 


.] 


■J, 


^um 


•I   *• 


I 


'       1  . 


lift', 


jKwisu  ihioi.(k;y 

went  tlu'  rit<-  of  lin  unu  i-i'iri  ami  llun  juiiu-d  the  hMcliti'^h 
K>mrmmi«y  ' 

4     With    thf   iran^furmati.m  of  thr  hrarliti-»h  SUtr  into 
thr  Jewish  (»»mmunil>      in  ittlu  r  word-.,  with  thcihanncif  the 
jMojilf  lr..m  a  |M»litii  al  tn  i  nliKiou-.  ^t.ituH.     this  nlation  t«»  the 
nun  J«w  umUrwtnt  a  (Uri«U<l  « han^;i-      A^  ihr  tontra^-t  to  the 
h«Mth«-n  luiamr  iiiori"  marki«i.  thcdVr  a^^iinu-«|  a  nrw  position, 
A-,  he  i)lt<lK«<l  hintM-lf  to  aliamlon  all  vf^i^rs  of  ii|<ilatry  and 
to  lonform  to  urtain  prin«  i|il»'M.f  the  Jrwi-h  law.  ho  rnti'ml 
into  t  |o^^•r  relations  with  thr  |h-o|>|i-.     At  t  onlin^ly.  hv  adopted 
itTtain  partN  t.l  thr  M.»>ait  hhU-  or  thr  ititirt-  law,  and  thus 
bftanu-  cither  a  partial  (»r  a  ronipletc  mernlur  «)f  the  religious 
lommunity  of  l-rael      In  eithtr  ia>e  he  wa^  regarded  as  a  fol 
lower  of  the  (iod  of  the  Covenant.      In  ^piti-  of  the  exilusive 
spirit  whiih  wa>  dominant  in  tin-  perio<l  following  K/ra,  two 
forces  favoreil  the  extending  of  the  boundaries  of  Judaism 
beyond  the  lonlines  of  the  nation.     On   the  one  hand,   the 
Babylonian    F-xile   h;id   visualized  and  partially   reali/e<l   the 
pro|)hery  of  Jeremiah:    "Unto  'j'hee  shall  the  nations  eomc 
from  the en<U  of  the  earth,  and  shall  say  :  'Our  fathers  have  in- 
herited naught  but  lies,  vanity  and  things  wherein  there  is  no 
protU.'"-     For  example.  Zeehariah  announee<l  a  time  when 
"many  peoi)les  and  miglity  nations  shall  tome  to  seik  the 
Lonl  of  Hosts  in  Jerusalem  and  lo  <ntreal  the  favor  of  the 
Lord,"  and  "Ten  men  slnll  take  hold    out  of  all  the  lan- 
guages of  nations,  shall  even  take  hold  of  the  skirt  of  him  that 
is  a  Jew,  saying,  'We  will  go  with  you,  for  we  have  heard  that 
Ood  is  with  you.'"  '     Another  prophet  .said  at  the  time  of  the 
overthrow  oi  Babylon:    "For  the  Loni  will  have  compassion 
on  Jacob,  and  will  yet  choose  1  -rael.  and  st-t  them  in  their  own 

'  Kx.  >  !J.  t^,  Mc  Ntli  \('  a  .»7  t> ;  Ma^.  Cirrim  I  HI  Thi'  opinion  of 
BiTtlioUl  .iii>l  Siliut-rcr  cunxrninK  the  simi  [)ro-i-|yti  ,,r  Oir  Tmluib  is  lon- 
tradiciol  liy  lioth  th>'  Hook  of  Jubilns  and  the   l.tlnnidir  source-.,  as  will  W 


ijor    \VI,  v., 


V.rth    VIII,  21-2}. 


'4 


TIIK   STR\N(.KR    \Nr>   Till     I'ROnMVII 


411 


lan.l,  .in<l  \\u'  ^IranKi-r  U.Vr,  nr  i  r.M.iM.  )  >1mII  j..in  liinwH 
with  tlu-m,  .iiul  they  nhall  .Kisr  '  .  ilw  Ii.hi-.  ..i  Juoli"' 
Thi'  IN.ilmi-*!-*  r^jM'tially  r.  1.  r  |..  llir  h.  iih.ti  \\h"  litll  j..it» 
htatl,^  -o  ih.il  (,tr  now  l.n  nnu      itu-  r.  •iil.ir  l.rto  lur  pr-.M- 

lyti- ' 

In  addition  to  llii-  itnvar.l  rilik'i'>u-  .1.  ^rr  w-    inn  t  .oni.hr 
tlu'  ,0.  iai  and  |.oliti.  al  itnput  <•      'I'll.-  handiul    a  Ju-liiMn^  wlio 
hid  ri-turm-d  fron\  Hal)>loii   i  wm-  mi  -.urrouod.  d  li>  luailun 
Iriln^  that,  wliili-  the  Samaritans  had  allr.H  !•  d  ih.-  U  -  d.'  ir 
ahh-  Kfonp-,  they  wcrr  ^lad  to  wthornr  thr  inllux  oi  -11.  Ii  a^ 
prnnii^rd  to  lui  onir  trin- worshiprrs  ot  ( iod      The  i  hit!  proh 
hin  \va>  Imw  to  provide  a  lir  d  form  lor  ihtM-  to  '  •  ..nu- over," 
firoselylr  Inin^    llu-  Cir«'<  k  term   for    "him  ulio  (omi-so\tr   " 
\\s  sui  h  a  form  they  o»uld  tnltr  the  .  ornmunit  y  while  a.  <  tptiim 
.(■rtain  niiKious  t)hli«atiotH      In  fa(t.   mi.  h  o'.hKalion>  ha<l 
lui-n  statrd  iH-for.-  in  the  I'rii^tly  CmU-,  wlii.  h  a.lmiltf.i  into 
the   politiral    (onimunity    a>    "sojourn,  r-,"    or    "  in<lv\il!rr>' 
iho^c  who  pU-d^^i-d  thi-mM'lvos  to  abstain  from  idolatry,  !)las- 
pht-my.  inii'st,  thi-  iMtin«  of  l)l.>od  '^r  ol  llidi  fr.im  living  ani- 
mals, and  from  ail  vioh-ncr  auain-t  human  lilt-  an.l  property. 
Th.y  were  debarred  only   from   marria^'e  into  ihi-  rehnious 
..)mmunity,   "the  (.m^renation   of   the   l-.>rd."'     Hemefortij 
Crr  un«l  (iir  Tosluth  bet  ame  juri.li.  al  term-,  the  >o.  iaI  ami  leyal 
dcMKnation  of  those  proselytes  who  h  id  abjured  heathenism 
an.l  joined  the  monotheistie  rank^  of  Ju.lai-m  as  "worshipers 

of  (iod." 

5,  Thus  the  first  great  ste[)  in  the  proL're-s  of  Judaism  from 
a  national  system  of  law  to  a  universal  reli^jion  was  made  in 
Juda;ii.  The  next  step  wa>  to  re. oj^ni/e  the  i.lea  of  the  revela- 
tion of  ("lod  to  the  "^;o.l  fi-arini;  men"  of  the  '  -inieval  ages,  as 
described  in  the  Mosaic  books,  an.l  lluis  to         n  'he  gatee  of 


'  Isa.  XIV.  I. 
'  P«.  XX II.  »."; 


I.XVM.  <:    I.XVIII,  ?of  ;    l.XXXVlI,4f. 


i 


I,' 


•II.  C'hron.  II,  16;  XXX,  2; 


ft;  i^''i-   u 


i%    I'  '"r'.    '\ 


f.  * 


412 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


the  national  religion  for  heathen  who  had  become  "God- 
fearing men  "  or  "worshipers  of  the  Lord."    Thus  the  Psalms, 
after  enumerating  the  customary  two  or  three  classes,  "the 
house  of  Israel,"  "of  Aaron,"  and  "of  Levi."  often  add  the 
"God-fearing"   proselyte.'    The   Synagogue   was   especially 
attractive  to  the  heathen  who  sought  religious  truth  because 
of  its  elevating  devotion  and  its  publir  instruction  in  the  Scrip- 
ture, translated  into  Greek,  the  language  of  the  cultured  world. 
This  sponsored  a  new  system  for  propagating  the  Jewish  faith. 
The  so-called  Propaganda  literature  of  Alexamlria  laid  its  chief 
stress  upon  the  ethical  laws  of  Judaism,  not  seeking  to  submit 
the  non-Jew  to  the  observance  of  the  entire  Mosaic  law  or  to 
subject  him  to  the  rite  of  circumcision.     The  Jewish  merchants, 
coming  into  contact  with  non-Jews  in  their  travels  on  land  and 
sea.  endeavored  especially  to  present  their  -eligious  tenets  in 
terms  of  a  broad,  universal  religion.     As  a  universal  faith  forms 
the  background  of  the  entire  Wisdom  literature,  particularly 
the  book  of  Job,  a  simple  monotheism  could  be  founded  upon 
a  divine  revelation  to  mankind  in  general,  corresponding  to 
the  one  to  Noah  ami  his  sons  after  the  flood.     The  laws  con- 
nected with  this  covenant,  called  the  Noahitic  laws,  were 
general  humanitarian  precepts.    We  find  these  enumerated  in 
"he  Talmud  as  six,  seven,  and  occasionally  ten.     Sometimes 
we  read  of  thirty  such  laws  to  be  accepted  by  the  heathen, 
probably  founded  upon  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  Leviticus, 
ai  one   time   central   in   Jewish   ethics.^     At   any  rate,   the 
•  Ps.  CXV,  11;    CXVIII,  4;    CXXXV,  20;    comp.  I.XVII,  S;    CII,  16; 
Job  1,1;  TobitLXIV,6;  Sibyll.  Ill,  572,  75^^;  Acts  X.  2;  XXI,  13;  V,  26  f. ; 
XVI,  44;   "vVII,  4;  XVIII,  7;  Mi'ir-  Teh.  Ps.  XXII,  29;  Lev.  Ill,  2;   -Mck. 
tP  F.x.  XX  I,  20;  se(     icrnay.s:  Ges.  \h\\.,  II,  74. 

JTos.  \h.  Z.  IX,  4;  .Sana.  56  1>-S7;  CJen.  R.  XXXIV,  7;  Jubil.  VII,  20  f. ; 
Sibyll.  "il,  38,  762.  For  the  thirty  commandments,  see  Ver.  Ab.  Z.  II,  40  1  ; 
Midr.  Teh.  Ps.  II,  s;  f^'™.  R.  XCVIII,  0;  J.  Q-  R-.  i8o4.  P-  259-  Comj). 
also  Pseudo-Phocylides  in  Bcrnays'  C<  v.  Ahh.,  I,  201  ff. ;  SeebcrR :  D.  beidrn 
Wfcu  d.  Apo-tzidecret,  p.  25;  Klein;  Dcr  rMlesie  ckrhtl.  Kalechhmus ;  J  F..,art. 
Commandments. 


t;-i 


:!tt-\-<- 


f 


THE  STRANGER   AND  THE   PROSELYTE  41.^ 

observance  of  the  so-called  Noahitic  laws  was  demandetl  of 
all  worshipers  of  the  one  God  of  Israel. 

Strange  to  say,  however,  this  extensive  propaganda  of  the 
Alexandrian  Jews  during   the    two    or    three   pre-Christian 
centuries   left    few   traces   in    the   history  and    literature  of 
Palestinian    Judaism.      Two    reasons    seem    at    han<l ;    the 
growth  of  the  Paulinian  Church,  which  absorbed  the  mission- 
ary activity  of   the  Synagogue,  and   the  elTort  of  Talmudic 
Judaism  to  obliterate  the  old  missionary  tradition.  ^  To  judge 
from  occasional  relerences  in  Josephus  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment, as  well  as  many  inscriptions  all  over  the  lands  of  the 
Mediterranean,'    the    number   of    heathen    converts    to    the 
Synagogue  was  very  large  and  caused  attacks  on  Judaism  in 
both  Rome  and  Alex;"^dria.     Josephus  tells  us  thai  Jews  and 
proselytes  in  all  lands  sent  sacrificial  gifts  to  Jerusalem  in  such 
abundance  as  to  excite  the  avarice  of  the  Romans.-'     The 
Midrash  preserves  a  highly  interesting  passage  which  casts 
light  on  the  earlier  significance  of  the  winning  of  ht-athen  con- 
verts, reading  as  follows  :  "When  it  is  said  in  Zejihaniah  II.  5  : 
'Woe  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  sea-coast,  the  nation  of  Kereth- 
ites ' ;  this  means  that  the  inhabitants  oi'  the  varii)us  pagan 
lands  would  be  doomed  to  undergo  Karetli,  'pe  Jition.'  save 
for  the  one  God-fearing  proselyte,  who  is  won  over  to  Juda- 
ism each  year  and  set  up  to  save  the  heathen  world."  ''     In 
other  words,  the  merit  of  the  one  proselyte  whose  conversion 
awakens  the  hope  for  the  winning  of  the  entire  heathen  world 
to  pure  monotheism,  is  an  atoning  power  for  all.     Such  was 
the  teaching  of  the  Pharisees,  whom  the  gospel  of  Matthew 
brands    as    hypocrites    because    of    th        zeal    in    making 
proselytes. 

>See  Schuerer,  1.  c,  165,   17s;    Harnack,  D.  Mission  u.  Ausbreituns  d. 
Chrislrnlums,  chapter  I. 

2  Ant.  XVI,  7-  T  ,.•     I    Ti   u 

'  Gen.  R.  XXVIII,  5  ;  Cant.  R.  I,  4 ;  see  Matt.  XXIII,  15  I  Jellinek,  B.  H. 

VI,  Introd  ,  p.  XLVI. 


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414 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


6.   This  kind  of  prosclytism  was  encouraged  only  by  Alex- 
andrian or  Hellenistic  Judaism.     In  Palestine,  however,  the 
social  system  of  the  nation  was  quite  unfavorable  to  the  sim- 
ple "God-worshiper,"  who  remained  merely  a  tolerated  alien, 
even  though  protected,  and  never  really  entered  the  national 
body.     Legally  he  was  termed  Ger  Toshab,  "settler,"  which 
meant  semi-proselyte.    The  type  of  this  class  was  Naaman, 
the  Syrian  general  who  was  instructed  by  Elijah  to  bathe  in 
the  Jordan  to  cure  his  leprosy,  and  then  became  a  worshiper 
of  the  God  of  Israel.'     Similarly,  whatever  the  real  origin  of 
the  proselyte's  bath  may  have  been,  a  baptismal  bath  was 
prescribed  for  the  proselyte  to  wash  off  the  stain  of  idolatry.^ 
He  was  regarded  as  one  who  had  "  fled  from  his  former  master  " 
(in  heaven)  to  find  refuge  with  the  only  God ;  ^    therefore  he 
was  legally  entitled  to  shelter,  support,  and  religious  instruc- 
tion from  the  authorities.*    Certain  places  were  assigned  where 
he  was  to  receive  protection  and  provision  for  his  needs,  but 
he  was  not  allowed  to  settle  in  Jerusalem,  where  only  full 
proselytes  were  received  as  citizens.*    According  to  Philo, 
special  hospices  were  fitted  out  for  the  reception  of  semi- 
proselytes.' 

7.  In  order  to  enjoy  full  citizenship  and  equal  rights,  the 
proselyte  had  to  undergo  both  the  baptismal  bath  and  the  rite 
of  circumcision,  thus  accepting  all  the  laws  of  the  Mosaic 
Code  equally  with  the  Israelite  born.  Beside  this,  he  had  to 
bring  a  special  proselyte's  sacrifice  as  a  testimony  to  his  belief 
in  the  God  of  Israel.  In  distinction  from  the  Gcr  Toshab,  or 
semi-proselyte,  he  was  then  called  Ger  ha  Zedek  or  Ger  ZedcL 
This  name,  usually  translated  as  "proselyte  of  righteousness," 

'  II  Kings  C,  i-is  ;  see  LXX  to  verse  14 ;  Sanh.  96  b. 
'See  Sota,  12  b;  Sibyll.  IV,  164;  comp.  Gen.  R.  II,  5;  J-  E.,  art.  Baptism 
and  Birth,  New;  Enc.  Religion  and  Ethics,  art.  Baptism,  Jewish. 
3  See  J.  E.,  art.  Asenath,  and  the  passages  quoted  there. 
*  Sifrc  ar,'!  Tarf^jm  to  Deut.  XXIIL  i^i-iQ- 
'  Tos.  Negaim  VI,  2 ;  Mas.  Gerim  III.  »  PhUo,  De  Monarchia,  I,  7- 


-Mrf 


li^jMm 


m 


THE  STRANGER   AND  THE   PROSELYTE 


415 


obviously  possesses  a  deeper  historic  iil  meaning.  The  I^almist 
voices  a  pure  ethiial  monotheism  in  his  query  :  "O  Lord,  who 
shall  be  a  guest  (OVr,  sojourner)  in  thy  tent?"  which  he  an- 
swers: "He  that  walketh  uprightly  and  worketh  righteousness 
and  speaketh  truth  in  his  heart."  '  But  the  legal  view  of  the 
priestly  authorities  was  that  only  the  man  who  offers  a  "sacri- 
fice of  righteousness"  and  pledges  himself  to  observe  all  the 
laws  binding  upon  Israel  might  become  a  "guest"  in  the 
Temple  on  Zion,  an  adopted  citizen  of  Jerusalem,  the  "city  of 
righteousness."  '  In  illustration  of  this  view  a  striking  inter- 
pretation to  a  Deuteronomic  verse  is  preservetl :  "They  shall 
call  people  unto  the  mountain,  there  shall  they  offer  sacrifices 
of  righteousness:  that  is,  the  heathen  nations  with  their 
kings  who  come  to  Jerusalem  for  commerce  with  the  Jewish 
people  shall  be  so  fascinated  by  its  pure  monotheistic  worship 
and  its  simple  diet,  that  they  will  espouse  the  Jewish  faith  and 
bring  sacrifices  to  the  God  of  Israel  as  proselytes."' 

The  prominence  of  the  full  proselyte  in  the  early  Synagogue 
appears  in  the  ancient  benedictiim  for  the  righteous  leaders  and 
Hasidim,  the  Soferim  and  Synedrion,  the  ruling  authorities  of 
the  Jewish  naticm,  where  special  mention  is  made  of  "  the  Prose- 
lytes of  (the)  Righteou.sness."  *  These  full  proselytes  pushed 
aside  the  half-proselytes,  so  that,  while  both  are  mentioned  in 
the  earlier  classification,  only  the  latter  are  considered  by  the 
later  Haggadah.*  With  the  dissolution  of  the  Jewish  State  no 
juridical  basis  remained  for  the  Gcr  Toskab,  the  "protected 

>  Ps.  XV,  1-2 ;  see  Cheyne'.s  Cnmmcntary. 

«The  article  //<»  Zrdek  seems  to  point  to  Jerusalem,  cailid  "the  city"  or 
"dwelling  place  of  righteousness"  (Zedck).  See  Isa.  I,  2i\  Jcr.  XXXI,  2i; 
L,  7.  Comp.  "Gates  of  righteousness"  (Zedek)  for  the  Temple  gates,  in  Ps. 
CXVIII.  19,  and  the  ancient  legendary  hero  of  Jerusalem.  .Uulki-Zrdck,  Gen. 
XIV,  18;  Josephus,  J.  W.  VI,  10;  Kpis.  Heb.  VII,  10;  and  Adoni  Zcdtk, 
first  king  of  Jerusalem,  Josh.  X,  3. 

»  Sifre  and  Targum  to  Diut.  XXXIII,  10.  '  Singer's  Praycrh.,  p.  48. 

» See  Mek.  Mishpatim  XVIII ;  comp.  A.  d.  R.  X.  XXXVI  ref.  to  Isa. 
XLIV,  5. 


If; 


lii 


<  <i 


4i6 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


irin 


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M?  iri! 


stranger."  R.  Simeon  ben  Kleazar  expressed  this  in  the  state- 
ment :  "With  the  cessation  of  the  Jubilee  year  there  was  no 
longer  a  ly  place  for  the  Gcr  Toshab  in  Judxa.  " '  We  read  in 
Josephus  that  no  proselytes  were  accepted  in  his  time  unless 
they  sul)mitted  to  the  Abrahamitic  rite  and  became  full  prose- 
lytes.2 

However,  as  Josephus  tells  us,  a  strong  desire  to  espouse 
the  Jewish  faith  existed  among  the  pagan  women  of  neighbor- 
ing countries,  especially  of  Syria.^  The  same  situation  existed 
in  Rome  according  to  the  rabbinical  sources,  Josephus,  Roman 
writers,  and  many  tomb  inscri^lions.^  Conspicuous  among 
these  proselytes  was  Queen  Helen  of  Adiabene,  who  won  lasting 
fame  by  her  generous  gifts  to  the  Jewish  people  in  time  of 
famine  and  to  the  Temjile  at  Jerusalem ;  her  son  Menobaz,  at 
the  advice  of  a  Jewish  teacher,  underwent  the  rite  of  circum- 
cision in  order  to  rise  from  a  mere  God- worshiper  to  a  full 
proselyte.*  The  Midrash  '  enumerates  nine  heathen  women 
of  the  Bible  who  became  God-worshipers:  Hagar ;  Asenath, 
the  wife  of  Joseph,  whose  conversion  is  described  in  a  little 
known  but  very  instructive  Apocryphal  book  by  that  name;  ^ 
Zipporah,  the  wife  of  Moses  ;  Shifra  and  Puah,  the  Egyptian 
midwives  ;  '  Pharaoh's  daughter,  the  foster  mother  of  Moses, 
whom  the  rabbis  identified  with  Bithia  {Balh  Yah,  "Daughter 
of  the  Lord") ;  '•*   Rahab,  whom  the  Midrash  represents  as  the 

'  .\rak.  29  a.  »  Vita  25-  '  J-  'V.  II,  20,  2. 

*  Josephus:  .\nt.  XIII,  0,  i ;  11,3;  XVIII,  3,  5  ;  XX,  8,  11;  Mck.  BoXV: 
Beluria  (Fulvia  or  \'alcria) ;  Schucrcr,  III,  1,6  ;  Gcmcindnrrf.  v.  Judcn  in  Romr; 
C.ractz  :  D.  jiicdisch.  Prnsrlytni  im  Rm-mirrrirh;  Radin  :  /<:c.s  timonn  Greeks  iiiid 
Romans,  p.  3S9.  Sec  also  Crooks:  The  Jeuish  Race  in  Ancient  and  Ronuui 
History. 

'Josephus:  Ant.  XX,  2-4;  Voma  III,  10;  Voma  37  a.;  Suk.  2  b; 
B.  B.  II  a;   Gen.  R.  XLVI,  8. 

•.Midrash  Tadshc  in  Jciiinck :  B.  H.  Ill,  iii;  Kpstein :  Sued.  Aller- 
thumskunde,  XLIII. 

7  Cfp  J    I.'     ^rf    A?ipnath.  '  Comp.  Sifre  Num.  178. 

'  1  Chron.  IV,  18;  Meg.  13  a. 


mm 


^^ 


mm 


■£i^ 


THE   STRANGER   AND  THE   I'ROSELVTE 


417 


wife  of  Joshua  and  ancestress  of  many  prophets ; '  Ruth  and 
Jael.  Philo  adds  Tamar,  the  daughter-in-law  of  Judah,  as  a 
type  of  a  proselyte.- 

8.    Beside  the  term  Gcr,  with  its  derivatives,   which  pave 
legal  standing  to  the  proselyte,  the  religious  genius  of  Judaism 
found  another  term  which  illustrated  far  better  the  idea  of 
conversion  to  Juddsm.     The  words  of  lioaz  to  Ruth :    "Be 
thy  reward  complete  from  the  Lord  thy  (iod  of  Israel,  under 
whose  wings  thou  art  come  to  take  refuge," '  were  applitfd  by 
the  Pharisean  leaders  to  all  who  joined  the  faith  as  Ruth  did. 
So  it  became  a  technical  term  for  converts  to  Judaism,  "to 
come,  or  be  brought,  under  the  wings  of  the  divine  majesty" 
(Shckinah).  *     Philo  frequently  expresses  the  idea  that  the 
proselyte  who  renounces  heathenism  and  places  himself  under 
the  protection  of  Israel's  God,  stands  in  lilial  relation  to  Him 
exactly  like  the  born  Israelite.'     Therefore  Hillel  devoted  his 
life  to  missionary  activity,  endeavoring  "to  bring  the  soul  of 
many  a  heathen  under  the  wings  of  the  Shekinah."     But  in 
this  he  was  merely  following  the  rabbinic  ideal  of  Abraham,' 
and  of  Jethro,  of  whom  the  Midrash  says  :  "After  having  been 
won  to  the  monotheistic  faith  by  Moses,  he  returned  to  his 
land  to  bring  his  countrymen,  the  Kenites.  under  the  wings 
of  the  Shekinah."  ^    The  proselyte's  bath  in  living  water  was 
to  constitute  a  rebirth  of  the  former  heathen,  poetically  ex- 
pressed in  the  Halakic  rule:   "A  convert  is  like  a  newborn 
creature."  *    The  Paulinian  idea  that  baptism  creates  a  new 
Adam  in  place  of  the  old  is  but  an  adaptation  of  the  Pharisaic 
view.     Some  ancient  teachers  therefore  declared  the  prose- 
lyte's bath  more  important  than  circumcision,  since  it  forms 

'  Meg.  15  b.  '  Philo:  De  Xoliilitatc,  6;  II,  443. 

'Ruth  II,  12. 

»  Ab.  d.  R.  X.,  cd.  Schfchter,  53  f. ;  Shab.  31a;  Lev.  R.  II,  8. 

'  See  Bertholet,  1.  c,  2S5-287. 

•  .\b.  d.  R.  N.,  1.  c.  '  Mek.  to  Ex.  XVIII,  27. 

8  Gen.  R.  XXXIX,  14;   Veb.  22  a;  comp.  Pes.  VIII,  8. 

2Z 


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■1 


418 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


.2 


the  sole  initiatory  rite  for  female  proselytes,  as  it  was  with  the 
wives  of  the  patriarchs.* 

9.   The  school  of  Hillcl  followed  in  the  fo.  tsteps  of  Hellen- 
istic Judaism  in  accentuating  the  ethical  element  in  the  law; 
so  naturally  it  encouraged  proselytism  as  well.    The  Midrash 
preserves  the  following  Mishnah.  handed  down  by  Simeon  ben 
Gamaliel,  but  not  contained  in  our  Mishnaic  Code  :  "  If  a  Cer 
desires  to  espouse  the  Jewish  faith,  we  extend  to  him  the  hand 
of  welcome  in  order  to  brinj,'  him  under  the  wings  of  the 
Shekinah."^     Both  the  Midrash  and  the  early  Church  litera- 
ture reveal  traces  of  a  Jewish  treatise  on  proselytes,  containing 
rules  for  admission  into  the  two  grades,  which  was  written  in 
the  spirit  of  the  Hellenistic  i)ropaganda.  but  was  afterward  re- 
written an<l  adopted  by  the  Christian  Church.     The  school 
of  Shammai  in  its  rigorous  legalism  opposed  proselytism  in 
general,  and  its  chief  representative,  Eliezer  ben  Hyrcanos, 
distrusted  proselytes  altogether.*     On   the  other  hand,  the 
fulK)wers  of  Hillel  were  decidedly  in  favor  of  converting  the 
heathen  and  were  probably  responsible  for  many  Haggadic 
passages  extolling  the  proselytes.     Thus  the  verse  of  Deutero- 
Isaiah :   "One  shall  say,  '  I  am  the  Lord's,'  and  another  shall 
call  himself  by  the  name  of  Jacob;    and  another  shall  sub- 
scribe with  his  hand  unto  the  Lord,  and  surname  himself  by 
the  name  of  Israel "  is  peculiarly  applied  in  the  Midrash.     The 
first  half,  we  are  told,  denotes  two  classes  of  Israelites,  those 
who  are  without  blemish,  and  those  who  have  sinned  and  re- 
pented ;  the  second  half  includes  the  two  classes  of  proselytes, 
those  who  have  become  full  Jews  (Gere  ha  Zedek)  ar.d  those  who 
are  merely  worshippers  of  God   (Yir'e  S  ha  ma  vim).     A  later 
Haggadic  version  characteristically  omits  the  last,  recogniz- 
ing only  the  full  converts  (Gere  Emcth)  as  proselytes.*    The 

>  Yeb.  46  a ;  comp.  Josephus :   .\nt.  XX,  2-4.  '  Shab.  31  a. 

» I.ev.  R.  II,  8.  '  Gen.  R.  I.XX,  5 ;   B.  M.  59  b. 

"  iMckilla,  i.  c. ;  comp.  Ab.  d.  R.  N.  XXXVI,  ed.  Schechter,  107. 


mmmmm 


THE  STRANGER   AND  THE   PROSELYTE 


419 


i 


following  parable  in  the  spirit  of  the  Essencs  illustratt-s  their 
view])oint.     In  commenting  upon  the  verse  from  the  Psalms : 
"  The  Lord  keejK'th  the  strangers, "  the  story  is  tolil :  A  king 
jxjssesscd  a  flock  of  sheep  and  goats  and  noted  that  a  deer 
joined  them,  accompanying  them  to  their  pasture  and  return- 
ing with  them.     So  he  said  to  the  herdsmen  :  "Take  good  care 
of  this  deer  of  mine  which  has  left  the  free  and  broad  desert 
to  go  in  anfi  out  with  my  flock,  and  do  not  let  it  sufl'er  hunger 
or  thirst."     Likewise  God  takes  special  delight  in  the  prose- 
lytes who  leave  their  own  nation,  giving  up  their  fellowship 
with  the  great  multitude  in  order  to  worship  Him  as  the  One 
and  Only  God,  together  with  the  little  people  of  Israel.'     Simi- 
larly the  Biblical  verse  concerning  wisdom  :  "  I  love  them  that 
love  me,  and  those  that  seek  me  earnestly  shall  find  nie"^  is 
referred  to  the  proselytes,  "who  give  up  their  entire  past  from 
pure  love  of  God,  and  place  their  lives  under  the  sheltering 
wings  of  the  divine  majesty."    All  these  Midrashic  passages 
and  many  others  are  but  feeble  echoes  of  the  conceptions  of 
the  Hellenistic  propaganda,  which  were  so  al)ly  set  forth  by 
Philo  and  the  Book  of  Ascnath.     Indeed,  Judaism  must  have 
exerted  a  powerful  influence  upon  the  cultured  wor''^  of  Hellas 
and  Rome  in  those  days,  as  is  evidenced  both  in  the  Hellenistic 
writings  of  the  Jew  and  in  the  Greek  and  Roman  w  ritcrs  them- 
selves.    Their  very  defamation  of  Judaism  unwittingly  gives 
testimony  to  the  danger  to  which  Judaism  exposed  the  pagan 
conception  of  life,  and  to  the  hold  it  took  upon  many  of  the 
heathen.' 

10.  The  reaction  against  this  missionary  movement  took 
place  in  Judea.  The  enforced  conversion  of  the  Idumeans 
to  Judaism  by  John  Hyrcanus  benefited  neither  the  nation  nor 
the  faith  of  the  Jew,  and  turned  the  school  of  Shammai,  which 
belonged  to  the  party  of  the  Zealots,  entirely  against  the  whole 

'  Midr.  Teh.  Ps.  CXLVI,  9 ;   Num.  R.  VIII.  2. 

« Prov.  VIII,  17 ;  Nua.  R., !.  c.  «  Schuerer,  i.  c,  III,  4 ;  Radin,  I  c. 


I'; 


If 

i 


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420 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


y 


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systpm  of  proselytism.    On  the  whole,  bitter  experience  taught 
the  Jews  distrust  of  conversions  due  to  fear,  such  as  those  of  the 
Samaritans  who  feared  the  lions  that  killed  the  inhabitants,  or 
to  political  and  wnial  advantaRC,  like  those  under  David  and 
Solomon,  or  in  the  days  of  Mordecai  and  Esther,  or  still  later 
under  John  Ilyrcanus.'      Instead,  all  stress  was  laid  upon  reli- 
gious c  .miction  and  loyalty  to  the  law.    In  fact .  Josephus  men- 
tions many  proselytes  who  in  his  time  fell  away  from  Judaism,' 
who  may  perhaps  have  been  converts  to  Christianity.     The 
later  HaUikah,  fixed  under  the  influence  of  the  Hadrianic  per- 
secution and  fjuoted  in  the  Talmud  as  Baraitha,  prescribes  the 
following  mode  of  admission  for  the  time  after  the  destruction 
of  the  Temple,  omitting  significantly  much  that  was  used  in 
the  preceding  period  : '    "If  a  person  desires  to  join  Judaism 
as  a  proselyte,  let  him  first  learn  of  the  sad  lot  of  the  Jewish 
people  anil  their  martyrdom,  so  as  to  be  dissuaded  from  join- 
ing.    If,  however,  he  persists  in  his  intention,  let  him  be  in- 
structed in  a  number  of  laws,  both  prohibitory  and  mandatory, 
easy  and  hard  to  observe,  and  be  informed  also  as  to  the  pun- 
ishment for  their  disobedience  and  the  reward  for  fulfillment. 
After  he  has  then  declared  his  willingness  to  accept  the  belief 
in  God  and  to  adhere  to  His  law,  he  must  submit  to  the  rite  of 
circumcision  in  the  presence  of  two  members  of  the  Pharisean 
community,  take  the  baptismal  bath,  and  is  then  fully  admitted 
into  the  Jewish  fold."    It  is  instructive  to  compare  this 
Halakic  rule  with  the  manual  for  proselytes  preserved  by  the 
Church   under  the  name  of   "The  Two  Ways,"   but  in  a 
revised  form.*      The   mode   of   admission   in   the   Halakah 
seems  modeled  superficially  after   the  more  elaborate   one 
of   the  earlier  code,  where  the  Shenia  as  the  Jewish  creed 
and  the  Ten  Commandments,  possibly  with   the   addition 


m 


»Yeb.  24  b;  Ver.  Kid,  IV,  6s  b. 

•  Yeb.  47  a;  comp.  Mas.  Gerim  I. 

*  See  J.  li.,  art.  Didache  and  Klein,  I.  c. 


«  Apion,  II,  10,  3. 


k  r 


4! 


THE  STRANC.KR  AND  THE  PROSF.l-YTE 


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iiTrsv^rUu..!..  .„..  .w  ..u. ..K 

"'l^'AOonras  .he  JewUh  .H.pl.   ,— -«  ^  """";•>;"« 
prominent  mc-mbers  of  the  ^  'man  ^  ^^^,^^,.,,  „f  ,hc- 

Christian  Church  pnicd  ^^^-If  «.''>^  ,  ^^  ^^,,,,, 

of  evtl    o  the  J.^^-     ;^\     ;  ^^  ,,,ill  join  himself  to 

rHe, J:..t  the ...ur.h centuo-, on .K-  j:;;-^,!;';  X  ^^ 
prosCyUs  h»vc.  '-"-;>:^:^;  :,,':;,•,,,„  .„  the  w.,rd 
",' ir  :;/••  ::l' y  •  •  Hle'-h  .,.  au..„,p..  ».  pr....|yti.m 
■ir,  -tu^l  an,.  .Hscoura«c,,.  »hi,e  "nnr,  unu ,.,U>rosc- 
"tcs.  -^  probably  mcanins  Iho  perse-culmg  l-hr,>t,a„.      »erc 

relegated  to  Gehinnom.'' 

,Ci,,s6b.,  AbZ.  .0,,,  o„CW.s»G,a.u    ...  J,..,3»7-3«..  bu. 

see  literature  in  Schuercr,  I.  c,  HI',  «f'9- 

»Git.  s6b-S7-  p     i.xXXVII,  4.  ref.  to  I  Sam.  II. 

.  Ex.  R.  XIX.  4;  comp.  f'^^J,f2j-p,,,,,  ^„,ra-r.  III.  45.  363- 
36  and  Isa.  LXVI,  .  Ojnp^  ^^^.'^..f'lf  XIV  to  Lev.  XIV.  56. 

t  Ex.  R.  XIX,  s- 


ft 


\ 


5^'.' 


1     ' 


I  Ml  1 

f     lUl  J- 


4" 


JEWISH  TlIEOUKiY 


ij.  ThU  virw  wa»  not  shared  by  all  contprnporarlcs.  how- 
ever.  R.  Abbahu  of  Ca^sana,  who  had  many  an  interesting 
and  bitter  dispute  with  hi>  Christian  fell«»w-iitizens,'  wan 
broadmindtil  emuiRh  to  deilare  the  pronelytes  to  Ik*  genuine 
wi)rshi|H'r>*  of  (1«hI,'  Joshua  ben  llanania  encouraged  the 
proselyte  Aquilas  and  pro^no^titated  great  success  for  pro»ic- 
lytes  in  general  as  teachers  of  both  the  Haggada  and  Ifalakah 
So  other  Haggadists  urged  special  love  and  compassion  for  the 
h'llf-proselyte,'  and  entertained  a  special  hope  «>f  the  Mes- 
sianic age  that  many  heathen  should  turn  to  G<m1  in  sincerity 
of  heart.*  At  all  events,  it  was  considered  a  great  sin  to  re- 
proach a  convert  with  his  idolatrous  past*  Indeed,  the  phrase, 
"they  that  fear  the  Lord,"  use«l  so  often  in  the  Psalms,  is  re- 
ferred by  the  Haggadists  to  the  proselytes;  true,  the  chief 
stress  is  laid  U|>*»n  the  full  proselytes,  the  Cere  Zedek,  but  a 
foremost  place  in  the  world  to  come  is  still  reserved  for  God- 
worshipers  like  the  FCmperor  Antoninus.*  Thus  P.salni 
CXXVIII,  which  speaks  of  the  "God-fearing  man,"  v/as 
applied  to  the  proselyte,  to  whom  were  therefore  promised 
temporal  bli.ss  and  eternal  .^.alvalion.  rejoicing  in  the  Law, 
in  dcetis  of  love  and  bounteous  blessing  from  Zion.^  While  the 
Halakah  remained  antagonistic  to  pro.selytism  on  account 
of  its  narrow  adherence  to  the  spirit  of  the  Priestly  Code,  the 
Haggadah  exhibits  a  broader  view.  Resonant  with  the 
spirit  of  prophecy,  it  beckons  to  all  men  to  come  and  seek 
shelter  undc  r  the  wings  of  the  one  and  only  God,  in  order  to 
disseminate  light  and  love  all  over  the  world. 

i,V  Modern  Judaism,  quickened  anew  with  the  spirit  ot 
the  ancient  seers  of  Israel,  cannot  remain  bound  by  a  later 
and  altogether  too  rigid  Flalakah.     At  the  very  beginning  of 

'  See  Bacher.  I.  c,  fl,  115-118.  » .\um.  R.  VIII,  i. 

«  Cen.  R.  I.XX,  5.  '  .\b.  Z.  3  b.  »  R   M.  sq  b. 

•  Midr.  Tth.  Ps.  XXII,  34;   hi-rc  also  a  later  HaRpadist  rrnioves  the  reftr- 
encc  to  the  half-proselytes.     See  Buber.  1.  c. :   Ver.  Meij.  I,  72  b. 
'  Num.  R.  vill,  10. 


^  m 


fi^LSI 


^f^\T'W;f»«r; 


Ifii:  STRANGER  AND  THK  I'ROSEl.YTt  AH 

the  Talmuclic  ,>cruKl  .land.  Hillel.  the  innrul  .a^c  ami  ma.tcr 
!,(  the  law.  wL,  like  Abraham  of  '^.1.  -U-n.!..!  u-  hand 
fellowship  to  all  who  wishnl  to  kn<.w  CukI  an.l  H  .  Uw .  he 
ac  ually  pu,he.l  aHido  th.  national  houn.U  to  mak.  way  or 
Ihith  o  I..V.  for  Hod  and  tho  fellow  n.an.  hnr  thn  ..  the 
tiXn^-'Hus  an.wer  to  the  Ronun  seolTer  who  wanted 

t.  hear  the  law  ex,..un.led  while  he  wa.  slandmK  on  one  foot 
^.Whatever  is  hateful  to  thee,  do  not  <lo  to  t^v  ellow  m  n 
Tlut  is  the  law  ;  all  the  rest  is  only  commentary  I  hu.   h 

leaders  of  progresMve  Judai.m  also  have  stepped  ..u    .^    he 
dark  pri.on  walls  of  the   ralmu.lic  (ihelto  and  reasserted  th 
humanitarian  principles  .>f  the  founders  of  the  Syna«.>«u 
who  welcomed  the  proselytes  into  Israel  an.l  .n  nuluced  .pcc-l 
blessings  for  them  into  the  liturgy.     They  declare  agam.wth 
th^^  author  of  Psalm  LXXXVII.  that  Zion.  the  •'cUy  of  Cod. 
.hould  be.  not  a  national  center  of  Israel  hut  the  rn^^^^^;^ 
humanity .  because  Ju.laism  isdotined  to  In-  a  un.yer.al  rc^.gu.n 

Not  that  Ju.laism  is  to  follow  the  proselyt.z.ng  m-thod,  of 
the  Church,  which  aims  to  capture  souls  by  -1-^^    f  Ih     ^ 
sion  without  due  regard  for  the  attitude  or  cony.ct.ono  the  m- 
.lividual.     But  we  can  no  longer  affor.l  to  shut  the  gate  to  h  sc 
who  wish  to  enter,  impelled  by  convut.on  or  other  mot  us 
having  a  religious  bearing,  even  though  they  <lo  not  conform  to 
th"  Talmudic  law.^     This  attitude  guide.l  the  leaders  of  Amer- 
ican Reform  Judaism  at  the  rabbinical  inference  unck    th 
presidency  of  Isaac  M.  Wise,  when  they  consider  d  the  ad 
•Jission  of  proselytes  at  the  present  time.     In  'he.  d^^^^^ 
they  followed  the  ma.xim  of  the  prophet  of  yore :      Open  the 
gates  (of  Judaism)  that  a  righteous  nation  may  enter  that 
kceoeth  the  faith."  *  ,   .,         ,. 

Z    It  i'^  interesting  to  observe  how  Philo  of  Alexandria 
contrasts  those  who  join  the  Jewish  faith  with  those  who  have 
.  see  CO..  to  p.  LXXXVII.  -d  LXX^-.io. 
•  Ycarb.  C.  C.  A.  R.,  i»9'.  'i>V^'  '^5- 


si 


^V. 


T 


^?SBBff? 


^kM(Mi 


kli^iJdi' 


4^4 


jEWISri  THEOLtXJY 


:»     '  * 


%^'  i     i 


.  \ 


Mi 


m 


become  apoHtafcH  The  f<»rmtT,  he  says,  Ijccome  at  once  pru- 
dent, tcmiK-ruU*,  nuMlt^t,  gentle,  kind,  human,  reverential,  ju»t, 
m;ignunimous,  |i»v«th  t»f  Jruih,  ami  KU|>crior  to  the  tempta 
tion.H  of  wealth  and  pifa«»uif,  whereas  the  latter  are  intem|K'rate, 
unchaste,  unjust,  irreverent,  low-minded,  c|uarrel!M)me,  aecus- 
tometl  to  faisehtMMl  and  |Hrjury,and  ready  to  ""11  their  freetlum 
fur  M-nsual  pleasures  of  all  kindu.'  In  the  timen  of  Hellenic 
culture  a|K)sta.y  made  itn  ap{KMrance  among  the  up[X'r 
tlaNSf>.  of  the  jevvH.  Ah  the  higher  minded  among  the  heathen 
worl«l  wen-  cirawn  towardn  the  suMime  monotheistic  faith  of 
the  jew.  M)  the  pUasure-seeking  an«l  worldly-mindetl  among 
the  Jews  were  attracted  l»y  the  allurements  of  Cireek  culture 
io  become  faithless  to  the  (lod  of  Israel,  break  away  from  the 
law,  ami  violate  the  covenant  F.NjK'cially  under  Syrian  rule, 
a|H)slasy  became  a  real  danger  to  the  Jewish  community,  and 
many  measures  had  to  be  decided  ui)on  to  avert  it.  The 
desertion  of  the  ancestral  faith  was  looked  u(M)n  as  rebellion 
and  treason  against  (mmI  and  Israel.'  With  the  rise  of  the 
Christian  Church  to  |)ower  and  influence  the  number  of  apos- 
tates increased,  and  with  it  also  the  danger  to  the  small  com- 
munity of  the  Jews  in  the  various  lands.  In  the  same  measure 
as  the  Church  made  a  meritorious  practice  of  the  conversion 
of  the  Jews,  whether  by  persuasive  means  or  by  force  and  per- 
secution, the  authorities  of  Judaism  had  to  provide  the  Jew 
with  spiritual  weapons  of  self-defense  in  the  shape  of  polemical 
and  apologetic  writings,'  and  to  warn  him  against  too  close  a 
contact  with  the  apostate,  which  was  too  often  fraught  with 
peril  for  the  whole  community.  As  a  number  of  these  apos- 
tates became  actual  maligners  of  the  Jews  under  the  Roman 
empire,  a  special  maledi*  tion  against  sectarians,  the  so-called 
Birkat  ha-Minim,  was  iusc'tcd  in  the  Eighteen  Benedictions 


•  Phi!)   I)c  Pcnitcntia,  a. 

•  See  J.  E..  art.  Apostasy  and  Apostates. 

'  See  J.  \L.,  art.  Apologetic  and  Fulemicol  Literature. 


niK  STRAN(.FR  AM>    HIK   rR()^i:VI  IK  VS 

under  thr  .lirection  .(  dam.lkl  11  '     Those  wh..  havr  cma 
natr.1  from  my  ..wn  mi.l.i  huri  ,m-  mosl.'  .ay.  the  Syna«o«u.v 
.  .»..rrin«  to  hcfM-U  the  wml ,  ..f  ih.  SulamUc-  ...  .he  Son^  u( 
Simir.'     WhiU-  every  other  otT.  n.ler  from  ;imo.in  fh.-  J.w-H 
'.H-ople  U  <UMl.ire.l  to  Ik-  'M.ro.h.r/'  ....twi.h.t;u,.ln.«  h..  m„ 
the  a,v»     tc  w.i.  .leelarea  to  !»•  on.   from  whom  ....  free  w.ll 
otTering  wa.  to  be  aeeepte.1/  an-l  to  whon.  the  gates  ..f  rqunt^ 
anee  an<l  the  «ateH  of  salvation  are  forever  el...e,         U.e  ed...« 
of  »,ittcrne.HaKair,st  hi,n  grew  i..  i..'en,.ty  a,  thr-.u^h.-ut  J.w^ 
i,h  history  he  often  ,.la>ea  the  .le,,m  ahle  role  o   a.,  aau.  r 
of  hi.  fnr..u.r  eoreligionist.  and  betrayer  of  the.r  fa.th       ih. 
m.Hler..  Jew  aU..  though  he  sy...,.athi/es  u.lh  every  h  ural 
.novcment  among mc.  an.l  res,Kets  every  hone.t  o,>,.u..n,  how^ 
c-ver  radically  .liferent  from  his  own,  .anuol  hut  hehol-    .. 
the  attitude  of  him  who  .leserts  .he  >n,..ll  ye.  hero.,  hand  o 
defenders  of  hi.  ancient  faith  and  j..ins  the  great  a..d  power- 
ful majority  around  him,  a  di-^l.-yaUy  a.ul  weakne>,  -.1  .har- 
a.  ter  unworthy  of  a  s<m  ..f  Abraham,  ihe  lu,  l.fu       S.me  ih. 
;^nning  of  tL  new  era  in  the  ti.ne  of  Mn.deh.o  n    UK.  a^ 

has  made  great  inn.ads  up..n  the  ,u.,ner,.al  and  ..mile,  ma 
strength  of  Ju.laism.  especially  a.nong  the  upper  ^  ---     ^ 
h  no  longer,  however,  of  an  aggre.Mve  .  haraj  tcr,  bu     r.ah  r 
a  result  of  the  lack  of  Jewish  self-respe.  t  and  rel.g.o.s    cr^t.- 
ment.  against  which  measure,   t.n.ling  to  a  rev.va    of    the 

Jewish  spirit  are  being  taken  nvr.-  and  n.^e.      '  -     -^\;!^;; 
ailed  by  the  rabbis  "  the  faithful  son.  ..,  the    a.th  u  l 

apostate  must  be  ma.le  to  feel  that  he  .,  of  a  lo.  r  , 

since  he  has  become  a  de.rter  from  the  army  of  the  battUrs 

for  the  Lord,  the  Only  One  Go.l  oi  l-^rael. 

•  Dcut,  XXV,  J  an.l  Sifrc  a.l  Uk  . .  S.inh   44  •« 

•  SifrcNum.  iti;  R.  H.  .7  a,    lo,.  S.mh Mil,  5 


til 


1%  r 


!     i 


I 


ft 


:l;n!-'! 


'•4 
_  n 

r 


CHAPTER  LVII 

Christianity  and  Mohammedanism,  the  Daughter- 
Religions  OF  Judaism 

1.  "It  shall  come  to  pass  on  that  day  that  living  waters 
shall  go  out  from  Jerusalem ;  half  of  them  toward  the  eastern 
sea  and  half  of  them  toward  the  western  sea.  .  .  .  And  the 
Lord  shall  be  King  over  all  the  earth ;  in  that  day  shall  the 
Lord  be  One,  and  His  name  one  '' '  These  prophetic  words 
of  Zechariah  may  be  applied  to  the  two  gr-  it  world-religions 
which  emanated  from  Judaism  and  won  fuU^  .  alf  of  the  human 
race,  as  it  exists  at  present,  for  the  God  of  Abraham.  Though 
they  have  incorporated  many  non-Jewish  elements  in  their 
systems,  they  have  spread  the  fundamental  truths  of  the 
Jewish  faith  and  Jewish  ethics  to  every  part  of  the  earth. 
Christianity  in  the  West  and  Islam  in  the  East  have  aided  in 
leading  mankind  ever  nearer  to  ihe  pure  monotheistic  truth. 
Consciously  or  unconsciously,  both  found  their  guiding  motive 
in  the  Messianic  hope  of  the  prophets  of  Israel  and  based  their 
moral  systems  on  the  ethics  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  The 
leading  spirits  of  Judaism  recognized  this,  declaring  both  the 
Christian  and  Mohammedan  religions  to  be  agencies  of  Divine 
Providence,  intrusted  with  the  historical  mission  of  cooperat- 
ing in  the  building  up  of  the  Messiaric  Kingdom,  thus  pre- 
paring for  the  ultimate  triumph  of  pure  monotheism  in  the 
hearts  and  lives  of  all  men  and  nations  of  the  world.  These 
views,  voiced  by  Jehuda  ha  Levi,  Mair.ionides,  and  Nah- 
manidcs,'  were  reiterated  by  many  enlightened  rabbis  of  later 

•  Zech.  XIV,  8-9. 

•  Cuzari,  IV,  23 ;  Maim. :  H.  Mdakim  XI,  41 ;  Responsa,  58 ;  Nahmanides : 

Deraskah,  ed.  JeHinek,  s  ,  see  Rashi  a.nd  Tosafot  to  .-*'■.  T.  2  a,  j;  j ,  Sanh.  63  b. 

436 


^imM, 


CHRISTIANITY  AND   MOHAMMEDANISM  42? 

times     These  point  out  that  both  the  Christian  and  Mo- 
hammedan nations  believe  in  the  same  God  and  His  revela- 
tion to  man.  in  the  unity  of  the  human  race,  and  m  the  future 
life  •  that  they  have  spread  the  knowledge  of  God  by  a  sacred 
litei^ature  based  upon  our  Scripture;  that  they  have  retained 
the  divine  commandments  essentially  as  they  are  phrased 
in  our  Decalogue ;  and  have  practically  taught  men  to  fulfill 
the  Noahitic  laws  of  humanity.'    On  account  of  the  last  fact 
the  medieval   Jewish  authorities  considered  Christians  to  be 
half-proselytes.2  ^^hile  the  Mohammedans,  being  pure  mono- 
theists,  were  always  still  closer  to  Judaism. 

2     In  general,  however,   rabbinic  Judaism  was  not  in   a 
position  to  judge  Christianity  impartially,  as  it  never  learned 
to  know  primitive  Christianity  as  presented  in  the  New  1  esta- 
ment.    We  see  no  indication  in  either  the  oldest  Talmudic 
sources  or  Josephus  that  the  movement  made  any  more  im- 
pression in  GaUlee  or  Jerusalem  than  the  other  Messianic 
agitations  of  the  time.     All  that  we  learn  concerning  Jesus 
from  the  rabbis  of  the  second  century  and  later  is  that  magic 
arts  were  practiced  by  him  and  his  disciples  who  exorcised 
by  his  name ;  and.  still  worse,  that  the  sect  named  after  him 
was  suspected  of  moral  aberrations  like  a  few  Gnostic  sects, 
known  by  the  collective  name  of  Minim,  "sectarians.         As 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  early  Church  was  chiefly  recruited   rom 
the  Essencs  and  distinguished  itself  little  from  the  rest  of  the 
Synagogue.     Its  members,  who  arc  called  Judx-o-Chrislians, 
continued  to  observe  the  Jewish  law  and  changed  their  atti- 
tude to  it  only  gradually.^    Matters  took  a  different  turn 

•Solomon  ben  .\clret :    Respo...,  30.;  Vorc  Hcah  CXLVIII.   .2.    Jacob 
Emden,  Comm.  to  .Vbot.  V.  .7;  comp.  Chwolson  :  D.  Blut.nkla.e,  64-79. 

'  Yer.  Shab.  XIV,  .4  d;  \b.  Z.  II,  40  d;  Sola,  47  a;  Sanh.  103  a,  Eccl. 

^   ''seT'/E.,  art.  Christianity;  Ebionites;  Minim;  and  comp.  the  various 
Church  Histories. 


N- 


S  1 


438 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


'V.< 


under  the  influence  of  Paul,  the  apostle  to  the  heathen,  who 
emphasized  the  antinomian  spirit;  the  Judaeo-Christian  sects 
were  then  pushed  aside,  hostility  to  Judaism  became  promi- 
nent, and  the  Church  strove  more  and  more  for  a  rapproche- 
ment with  Rome.'    Then  the  rabbis  awoke  to  the  serious 
danger  to  Judaism  from  these  heretics,  Afinim,  when  after  the 
tragic  downfall  of   the  Jewish  naiion   they  grew  to  world- 
power  as  allies  of  the  Roman  Empire.     Thus  Isaac  Nappaha, 
a  Haggadist  of  the  fourth  century,  declared:   "The  turning 
point  for  the  advent  of  the  Messiah,  the  son  of  David,  will  not 
come  until  the  whole  (Roman)  Empire  has  been  converted 
to  Christianity  (Minuth).'"  ^    This  is  supplemented  by  the 
Babylonian  Rabbah,  who  plays  with  a  Biblical  phrase,  say- 
ing: "Not  until  the  whole  (Roman)  world  has  turned  to  the 
Son  (of  God)."'    Henceforth  Christian  Rome  was  termed 
Edom,  like  pagan  Rome  from  the  days  of  Herod  the  Idumean. 
In  fact,  her  imperial  edicts  showed  the  fratricidal  hatred  of 
Esau,  with  hardly  a  trace  of  the  professed  religion  of  love. 
No  wonder  the  Haggadists  identified  Rome  with  the  Biblical 
"Boar  of  the  forest,"  and  waited  impatiently  for  the  time 
when  she  would  have  to  give  up  her  rule  as  the  fourth  world- 
empire  to  the  people  of  God,  ushering  in  the  Messianic  era.^ 
3.   Meanwhile  the  relapse  of  Christianity  frcm  monotheism 
became  more  steady  and  more  apparent.    The  One  God  of 
the  Jew  was  pushed  into  the  background  by  the  "Son  of 
Man";  and  the  Virgin-Mother  with  her  divine  child  bec.me 
adored  like  the  Queen  of  Heaven  of  pagan  times,  showing 
similarity  especially  to  Isis,  the  Egyptian  mother-goddess, 
with  Horus,  the  youig  son-god,  on  her  lap.    The  pagan 
deities  of  the  various  lands  were  transformed  into  saints  of 


ii     ' 


»  See  J.  E.,  art.  Saul  of  Tarsus.  » Sanh.  97  a. 

•  Lev  Xin,  13  :  Kntlo  happak  laben,  instead  of  laban. 
«Ab.  d.  R.  N.  XXXIV;  Lev.  R.  XIH,  4  ref.  to  Ps.  LXXX,  14;  Midr. 
Teh.  Ps.,  1.  c. 


i^m^^m^}       •  ■:^2sw^& 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  MOHAMMEDANISM  4^9 

the  Church  and  worshiped  by  means  of  images,  in  order  to 
win  the  pagan  masses  for  the  Christian  faith.    The  ongma 
pure  and  absolute  monotheism  and  the  stern  conception  of 
holiness  were  thus  turned  mto  their  very  opposites  by  the 
hk-rarchy  and  monasticism  of  the  Church.    How.  then,  could 
the  Jewish  people  recognize  the  crucified  Chnst  as  one  of  th.r 
own?    One  whose  preaching  seemed   to  bring   them   only 
damnation  and  death  instead  of  salvation  and  life,  even  while 
speaking  in  the  name  of  Israel's  God  after  the  manner  of  the 
prophets  of  yore?    How  could  they  see  in  the  strange  doc- 
trines of  the  Church  any  resemblance  to  their  own  system  of 
faith,  especially  as  the  very  doctrines  which  repelled  them 
we  those  most  emphasized  by  Christianity?    Maimonides 
Considered  the  adherents  of  the  Roman  Church  to  be  idolaters, 
a  view  which  was  modified  by  the  Jewish  authoriUes  in    he 
West,   as   they   became   better   acquainted   with   Cnristian 

"^T'The'  world-empire   of   the   Church   was   subsequently 
divided   between    Rome,    which    the   Je^vish    writers   calkd 
Edam?  and  Byzantium,  which  they  named  Yavan^  ^^^^  ""'"'^'l 
.howed  any  real  advance  in  religious  views  and  ideals.    On 
the  contrary,  they  both  persecu.ed  with  fire  and  sword  the 
little  people  who  were  faithful  to  their  ancient  monotheism, 
and  suppressed  what  remained  of  learning  and  science.    As 
the  Church  had  the  great  task  of  disciplining  wild  and  semi- 
barbarous  races,  there  was  little  room  left  for  learning  or  for 
high  ideals.    At  this  time  a  rigorous  avenger  of  the  persecuted 
si^rit  of  pure  monotheism  arose  among  the  sons  of  Ishmael 
in  the  desert  of  Arabia  in  the  person  of  Mohammed,  a  camel- 

\toTZ^6:\;  Isserles  Sh.  ..r.  Orah  Hayi..  .56;  co.,  J.  E.  art. 

'-"^tZ^^Z^ior  Ro.e  ..ce  .he  ti.e  of  the  Id^ean  He.d^a^e 
the  name  for  the  Church  of  Rome,  while  Ya^an  -  Greek  was  the  came  given 
to  the  Greek  Church. 


m:: 


L^JS^eiiS^i.'i?'  :-^i 


'^di 


w 


{ ^ 


►  t: 


U:r 


l':r 


430 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


driver  of  Mecca,  a  man  of  mighty  passions  and  void  of  leam- 
ing,  but  imbued  '.vith  the  fire  of  the  ancient  prophets  of  Israel. 
He  felt  summoned  by  Allah,  the  God  of  Abraham,  to  wage 
war  against  the  idolatry  of  his  nation  and  restore  the  pure 
faith  of  antiquity.  He  kindled  a  llame  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen  which  did  not  cease,  until  they  had  proclaimed 
the  unity  of  (lod  throughout  the  Orient,  had  put  to  flight 
the  trinitarian  dogma  of  the  Church  in  both  Asia  and  Africa, 
and  extended  their  domain  as  far  as  the  Spanish  peninsula. 
He  ofTered  the  Jews  inducements  to  recognize  him  as  the 
last,  "the  seal."  of  the  prophets,  by  promising  to  adopt  some 
of  their  religious  practices;  but  when  they  refused,  he  showed 
himself  fanatical  and  revengeful,  a  genuine  son  of  the  Bed- 
ouins, unrelenting  in  his  wrath  and  ending  his  career  as  a  cruel, 
sensuous  despot  of  the  true  Oriental  type.  Nevertheless, 
he  created  a  religion  which  led  to  a  remarkable  advance- 
ment of  intellectual  and  spiritual  culture,  and  in  which 
Judaism  found  a  valuable  incentive  to  similar  endeavors. 
Thus  Ishmael  proved  a  better  heir  to  Abraham  than  was 
Esau,  the  hostile  brother  of  Jacob.' 

5.  The  important,  yet  delicate  question,  which  of  the 
three  religions  is  the  best,  the  Mohammedan,  Christian  or 
Jewish,  was  answered  most  cleverly  by  Lessing  in  his  Nathan 
the  Wise,  by  adapting  the  parable  of  the  three  rings,  taken 
from  Boccaccio.  His  conclu>ion  is  that  the  best  religion  is 
the  one  which  induces  men  best  to  promote  the  welfare  of 
their  fellow  mcn.^  But  the  question  itself  is  much  older;  it 
was  discussed  at  the  court  of  the  Kaliphs  in  Bagdad  as  early 
as  the  tenth  centur)-,  where  the  adherents  of  every  religion 

»  On  Ishmael  and  Edom  see  Steinschneider :  Polemisch.  u.  Apologet.  Literalur, 
25&-273;  on  Mohammed,  eodem,  302- 3S8. 

'  See  Wuensche:  "Urspr.  d.  Parabel  v.  d.  drei  Ringen"  in  Lcssing-Mendels- 
sohn  Gedenkbuch,  Leipzig,  1879;  comp.  Steinschneider,  1.  c,  37,  3«7,  319; 
Hebr.  Biblingr.lV,79;  XII,  ai;  Dunlop-Liebrecht :  Cesch.  d.  Prosadkhlung, 
p.  iii,  note  10  i94  f. 


„**u 


iP 


* 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  MOHAMMEDANISM  43* 

there  represented  expressed  their  opinions  in  all  candor.    For 
centuries  it  was  the  subject  of  philosophical  and  comparative 
investigations.'    Among  these,  the  most  thorough  and  pro- 
found is  iheCuzari  by  the  Jewish  philosopher  and  poet,  Jchuda 
ha  Levi.    But  the  parable  of  the  three  rings  also  has  been 
traced    through   Jewish   and   Christian   collections   of   tales 
dating  back    to  the    thirteenth    century,  and  seems  to  be 
originally  the  work  of  a  Jewish  author.     Standing  between 
the  two  powerful  faiths  with  their  appeal  to  the  temporal 
arm   the  Jew  had  to  resort  to  his  wit  as  almost  his  only  re- 
source for  escape.     Two  Jewish  works  have  preserve.l  earlier 
forms  of  the  parable.     In  Ibn  Verga's  collection  of  histories  of 
the  fifteenth  century,  it  is  related  that  "Don  Pedro  the  Elder, 
King   of   Aragon    (1196  1213).   asked    Ephraim   Sancho.    a 
Jewish  sage,  which  of  the  two  religions,  the  Jewish  or  Chris- 
tian, was  the  better  one.     After  three  days'  deliberation,  the 
sage  told  the  king  a  story  of  two  sons  who  had  each  received 
a  precious  stone  from  their  father,  a  jeweler,  when  he  went 
on  a  journey.    The  sons  then  went  to  a  stranger,  threatening 
him  with  violence,  unless  he  would  decide  which  of  the  jewels 
was  the  more  valuable.    The  king,  believing  the  story  to  be 
a  fact,  protested  against  the  action  of  the  two  sons,  where- 
upon the  Jew  explained :   Esau  and  Jacob  are  the  two  sons 
who  have  each  received  a  jewel  from  their  heavenly  Father. 
Instead  of  asking  me  which  jewel  is  the  more  precious,  ask 
God,  the  heavenly  Jeweler.      He  knows  the  ditTerence,  and 
can  tell  the  two  apart."  ^ 

An  older  and  probably  more  original  form  of  the  parable 
was  discovered  by  Steinschneider  in  a  work  by  Abraham 
Abulafia  of  the  thirteenth  centur>',  running  as  follows :      A 
father  intended  to  bequeath  a  precious  jewel  to  his  only  son 
but  was  exasperated  by  his  ir  gratitude,  and  therefore  buried 

'  See  Schreiner :  D.  juengst.  Uricile  u.  d.  Judcnth.,  j-S- 

.„..,.-.    >  •    ^4  ii:— r-  r>   i-^"      '^'•''  Sipinsrhneidcr :  Heb.  BiDl.,  1.  c. 


'lffiiS5f^i3E1*«!ri^ 


43* 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


'  ,, 


i.fl:  a 


<  .1 


ji''! 


r.n.  i. 


HMfv^' 


it.  His  servants,  however,  knowing  of  the  treasure,  took  It 
and  claimed  to  have  received  it  from  the  father.  In  the 
course  of  time  they  became  so  arrogant  that  the  son  repented 
of  his  conduct,  whereupon  the  father  gave  him  the  jewel 
as  his  rightful  possession."  The  story  ends  by  stating 
that  Israel  is  the  son  and  the  Moslem  and  Christian  the 
servants. 

Beside  this  witty  solution  of  a  delicate  problem,  some 
Mohammedans  made  attempts  ver>'  early,  doubtless  on  ac- 
count of  discussions  with  learned  Jews,  to  prove  the  justi- 
fication of  the  three  religions  from  the  Jewish  Scriptures 
themselves.  Thus  they  referred  the  verse  speaking  of  the 
revelation  of  God  on  Sinai,  Mount  Scir,  and  Mount  Paran ' 
to  the  religious  teachings  of  Moses,  Jesus,  and  Mohammed. 
Naturally,  the  Jewish  exegetes  and  philosophers  objected 
vigorously  to  such  an  interpretation. 

6.  The  question  which  religion  is  the  best,  has  been  most 
satisfactorily  answered  for  Judaism  by  R.  Joshua  ben  Hanania, 
who  said  that  "the  righteous  of  the  heathen  have  al.-^o  a  share 
in  the  world  to  come."  ^  The  question  which  religion  is  true, 
has  been,  alas,  too  long  arbitrated  by  the  sword,  and  will  be 
decided  peacefully  only  when  the  whole  earth  will  be  full  of 
the  knowledge  of  God.  Our  own  age,  however,  has  begun  to 
examine  the  title  to  exi-^tcnce  of  every  religion  from  the  broad 
standpoint  of  history  and  ethnology,  assigning  to  each  its  proper 
rank.  In  this  large  purview  even  the  crude  beliefs  of  savages 
are  shown  to  be  of  value,  and  the  various  heathen  religions 
are  seen  to  have  a  historical  task  of  their  own.  Each  of  them 
has  to  some  extent  awakened  the  dormant  divine  spark  in 
man  ;  one  has  aided  in  the  growth  of  the  ideal  of  the  beautiful 
in  art,  another  in  the  rise  of  the  ideal  of  the  true  in  philosophy 
and  science;    a  third  in  the  cultivation  of  the  ideal  of  the 

»  Dcut.  XXXIII,  3-,  sec  Steinschtieidef :  "P»!.  u.  .Apo!.  Lit.,"  317  f. 
•Tos.  Sanh.  XIII.  2;  Sanh.  105  a;  Maimonides:  H.  Teshubah  III,  3. 


i^^^^£^^n!r^7T^ 


CHRISTIANITY  AND   MOHAMMEDANISM  433 

good  and  in  stimulating  sympathy  and  love  so  as  to  ennoble 
men  and  nations.     Thus  after  a  careful  examination  of  the 
historical   documents   of   the  Christian   and    Mohammedan 
religions,  it  is  possible  to  .'ate  clearly  their  great  historic 
mission  and  their  achievements  in  the  whole  domain  of  civili- 
zation.     The  Jewish  reli^::on.  as  the  mother  who  gave  birth 
to  both,  must  rleliver  the  verdict,  how  far  they  still  contrib- 
ute to  the  upbuilding  of  Ciod's  kingdom  on  earth.     In  ful- 
filling their  ai)pointcd  mission,  each  has  given  rise  to  valuable 
and  peculiar  institutions,  and  each  has  fallen  short  of  the 
Messianic  ideal  as  visualized  by  our  great  prophets  of  old 
Only  an  impartial  judgment  can  say  which  one  has  reached 
the  higher  stage  of  civilization.  ^ 

7    Christianity's  origin   from    Judaism  is    proved  by  its 
religious  documents  as  well  as  by  its  very  name,  which  is 
derived  from  the  Greek  for  the  title  Messiah  (Christos),  be- 
stowed on  the  Xazarcne  by  his  followers.     Still  the  name 
Christianity  arose  in  Antioch  among  non-Jews  who  scarcely 
knew  its  meaning.     All  the  sources  of  the  New  Testament, 
however  much  thev  conflict  in  det;rU.  agree  that  the  move- 
ment of  Christianity  began  with  thi  api>earance  of  John  the 
Baptist,  a  popular  Essene  saint.     He  rallied  the  multitude 
at  the  shore  of  the  Jordan,  preparing  them  for  the  approach- 
ing end  of  the  Roman  world-kingdom  with  the  proclamation, 
"Wash  yourselves  clean  from  your  sins!"   that  is,  "Take  the 
baptismal  bath  of  repentance,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
nigh."  '     He  conferred  the  baptismal  bath  of  repentance  upon 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  the  first  apostles.^    Jesus  took  up  this 
message  when  John  was  imprisoned  and  finally  killed  by 

>  Matt.  Ill,  2;   I-uke  III.  3;   Josephus.  .\nt.  XVIII,  S-  ^ :  "^ee  J    F...  art. 
John  the  Baptist.     Perhaps  John  wa.  i<lcntical  with  Hanan,  "  the  hu  den  one, 
a  popular  saint  called  '-father-  by  the  people,  and  believeJ  to  be  a  descendant 
of  Moses,  a  grandson  of  Onias  the  rainm.iker.  and  a  rain-invok.ng  saint  hunsdf. 
See  Taan.  2j  b;  Tanh.  Waera,  cd.  Hubcr,  II,  37- 

»  Matt   Mt.  V? :  Mark  L  7  ;  Lul-*-'  "L  ^^  >  J"^  ^'  *9-40- 
2r 


um^:MmL:wzT^^wm^rw 


^^'■■i:■'f^^:':':i:^^■"<^ 


434 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


!'  ^  ■ 


K 


J      ^ 


Herotl  Antipas  on  account  of  his  preachment  against  him.' 
The  life  of  Jesus  is  wrapt  in  legends  which  may  be  reduced 
to  the  following  historical  elements:'  The  young  Nazarene 
was  of  an  altogether  dilTerent  temperament  from  that  of  John 
the  Baptist,  the  stern,  Klijah-like  preacher  in  the  wilderness  ;* 
he  manifested  as  preacher  and  as  a  healer  of  the  sick  a  pro- 
founil  love  for,  and  tender  sympathy  with  suffering  humanity, 
a  trait  especially  ft)stered  among  the  Essenes.     This  drew  him 
toward  that  class  of  people  who  were  shunned  as  unclean  by 
the  uncom|)romising  leaders  of  the  Pharisees,  and  also  by 
the  rigid  brotherhoods  of  the  Essenes,  whose  chief  object  was 
to  attain  the  highest  degree  of  holiness  by  a  life  of  asceticism. 
His  simple  countrymen,  the  fishers  and  shefjherds  of  Galilee,  on 
hearing  his  wise  and  humane  teachings  and  seeing  his  miracu- 
lous cures,  considered  him  a  prophet  and  a  conqueror  of  the 
hosts  of  demons,  the  workers  of  disease.     In  contrast  to  the 
learned  Pharisees,  he  felt  it  to  be  his  calling  to  bring  the  good 
tidings  of  salvation  to  the  jwor  and  outcast,  to  "seek  the  lost 
sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel "  and  win  them  for  God.     He  soon 
found  himself  surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  followers,  who, 
on  a  Passover  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  induced  him  to  an- 
nounce himself  as  the  expected  Messiah.     He  attracted  the 
people   in   Jerusalem   by  his   vehement   attacks   upon    the 
Sadducean  hierarchy,  which  he  threatened  with  the  wrath  of 
heaven  for  its  abuses,  and  also  by  his  denunciations  of  the 
self-sufficient  Phariscan  doctors  of  the  law.     Soon  the  crisis 
came  when  he  openly  declared  war  against  the  avarice  of  the 
priests,  who  owned  the  markets  where  the  sacrificial  fowl  for 
the  Temple  were  sold,  overthrowing  the  tables  of  the  money 
changers,  and  declaring  the  Temple  to  have  become 

'Matt.  IV,  12;  XIV,  10. 

«  J.  E.,  art.  Christianity ;   Jesu-s ;  Sew  Testament ;  Simon  Kaifa. 
thr  Gospels,  that  of  I.uicc  has  the  oldest  records,  rather  than  Mark. 
Spitta  ;  D.  Synoptische  Grunduhrifl. 

•  See  J.  E.,  art.  John  the  Baptist. 


den 

Among 
See  also 


CHRISTIANITY   ANU   MOHAMMtDAM>M  435 

of  robbers."'  The  hierarchical  council  delivered  him  to 
Pontius  IMlatus.  the  R..man  prefect,  as  an  aspirant  t..  the 
royal  title  of  Messiah,  which  in  the  eyes  of  the  Romans  meant 
a  revolutionary  leader.  The  Roman  soldiers  cruul.ed  him 
and  m.Hke«l  him.  calling  him.  "Jesus,  the  kinK  <'f  the  Jews. 

The  fate  of  crucifixion,  however,  did  not  end  the  career  of 
J  suH  as  it  had  that  ..f  many  other  claimants  to  th.-  Mcssiah- 
,hip  in  those  turbulent  times.     His  personality  ha.l  impres.->ed 
itself  so  .leeply  u|><.n  his  followers  that  they  couhl  not  admit 
that  he  had  gone  from  them  forever.     They   awaited  his 
resurrection  and  return  in  all  the  heavenly  glory  ..f  the    Son 
of  Man."  and  saw  him  in  their  ecstatic  visions,  attending  their 
love-feasts.»  or  walking  about  on  the  lake  of  Nazareth  while 
they  were  fishing  from  their  U.ats.  or  ho-.ering  at  the  sum- 
mit of  the  mountains.*    This  was  but  the  starting  iK,int  of 
that  remarkable  religious  movement  which  grew  tirst  among 
the  lower  classes  in  northern  Palestine  and  Syria.^  then  gradu- 
ally throughout  the  entire  Roman  Empire,  shaking  the  whole 
of  heathendom  until  all  its  deities  gave  way  to  the  God  of 
Israel,   the  divine   Father   of   the   crucifu.l    Messiah.    Ihe 
Jewish  tidings  of  salvation  for  the  poor  and  lowly  offered  by 
the  Nazarene  became  the  death-knell  to  the  proud  might  of 

paganism.  .  , ,  .     , 

8  But  the  ways  of  Providence  are  as  inscrutable  as  they 
are  wonderful.  The  poor  and  lowly  members  of  the  early 
Christian  Churches,  with  their  leaders,  called  "apostles  or 
"messengers"  of  the  community,  -elected  originally  to  carry 
out  works  of  charity  and  love."  -  would  never  have  been  able 

•Matt.  XXI,  12,  and  parallels;   comp.   Yer.  Taan.   IV,  8;   Tos.  Mcnah. 

XIII.  Ji. 

'Alatt  XXVII,  37-4  J,  and  parallels.  ,      ..     „     . 

•iohn  XX;    thelatter  part  of  the  Go.pel  of  John  belonged  ongmally  to 

Matthew. 

*  Matt.  XIV,  24  f- ;   XVII,  I ;  see  Wcllhausen  :  Comm. 

»  Sec-  J.  E.,  art  Ehi.nite..  '  See  J.  E.,  art.  AposUes. 


i^ 


436 


JEWISH  THKOI.OGY 


KM 


tl 


*'■.*(' 'I     t1 


I        i 


i 


k 


Nr| 


:.    i. 

:]  1  t 

it: 


1 


H 


to  conquer  the  great  wor) '.  if  they  had  i)ersi  ted  In  the  Ewene 
tradilions.    They  owetl  their  success  to  the  lafRe  Hrllenixtic 
groups  who  joined  them  at  an  early  iwriml  and  intrinlucrd 
the  Greek  language  as  their  medium  of  expression.     Hcnte- 
forlh  the  propaganda  activity  of  the  Akxarulrian  Jews  wu'^ 
adopted  by  the  young  Church,  which  likewise-  took  up  ai    the 
works  of  wisdom  and  ethics  written  in  Greek  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  proselytes  and  the  young,  scarcely  known  to  the 
Palestinian  sch(K)ls.    The  Essene  baptism  for  repentance  was 
replaced  by  baptism  f«»r  conversion  or  initiation  i-^to  the  new 
faith,  while  the  neophyte  to  1)C  prepared  f.>r  this  rite  v.as  for 
u  long  time  instructed  mainly  In  the  (!  Ktrines  of  the  Jewish 
faith.'     Subsequently  collections  of  wise  savings  and  moral 
teachings  ascribed  to  the  Nazarene  and  handed  down  in  the 
Aramaic  vernacular,  orally  or  in  writing,  were  translated  into 
Greek.    These  together  with  tl\e  manuals  for  proselytes  were 
the  original  Church  teachings.     The  Greek  language  paved  the 
way  for  the  Church  to  enter  the  great  pagan  world,  exactly  as 
the  Greek  translation  of  the  Bible  in  Alexandria  brought  the 
teachings  of  Judaism  to  the  knowledge  of  the  outside  world. 
At  first  the  same  obstacle  confronted   the  early  Church 
which  had  prevented  the  Synagogue  from  becoming  a  world 
conqm  ror,  namely,  the  rite  of  circumcision,  which  was  re- 
quired for  full  membership.    Without  this,  baptized  converts 
were  only  half-proselytes  and  could  not  be  fully  assimilated. 
This  classltkation  was  4lll  upheld  by  the  Apostolic  Conven- 
tion, which  met  under  the  presidency  of  James  the  Elder.* 
The  time  was  ripe  fi)r  a  bold  and  railical  innovation,  and  at 
this  psychological  moment  arose  a  man  of  great  zeal  ami  un- 
bridled' energy  as  well  as  of  a  creative  genius  and  a  mystical 
imagination.  -  Saul  of  Tarsus,  known  by  his  Roman  name 

'J   E.,  art.  Dklachc  and  Dulasr.ilm ;   Klein,  I.  r. 

•Acts  XV,   5-io;  <omp,   R.  ScebcrK;  Das   A  pastel Jecret;   DU>iche  u.  d. 
L'rchrislenheit. 


M 


f^nar^r^TTS^TB? 


niRlSTlNNITY   AND   MOHAMMEDANISM  4^ 

PauluH  •     Ho  haa  l>etn  sent  ».y  the  authoritUs  at  Jerusalem 
to  pursue  thr  u.lhcrcntH  of  the  m-w  sc-ct.  but  whm  he  had 
M.me  as  (ar  as  l)amascu>  in  Syria   h.  su.UU-nly  turmd  from  a 
persecutor  into  the  m.«t  anient  promoter  o(   the  niHcent 
Church.  imiKlW.1  hy  a  strange  halhuination      I  aul   v.ii^  a 
canK-t  weaver  by  trade.  iH.rn  and  reare.l  in  Tar.us  a  sea|»<.rt 
of  Asia  Minor,  where  he  m-ms  to  have  had  a  Clreek  traininK 
and  to  have  imbibed  (in..stic  «r  semi  pagan  ideas  besi.le  hli 
Biblical  knowledge.     In  this  ecstali.  vision  -".^'^^""/'"'y  l^*^ 
beheld  the  f.Kure  of  Jesus,  "the  crucir.e.l     hr.st.    whose  ad- 
hcrents  h.-  was  pursuing,  yet  whom  he  had  never  M-enin  the 
flesh,  appearing  as  a  heavenly  being  whom  Paul  .dent.tied  a. 
the  heavenly  Adam,  the  archetypal  "g.Hllike- man. 

Uinm  this  strange  vision  he  constructs  a  theolog.cal  sys- 
tem far  more  ,>agan  than  Jewish  in  ty,H-.  a.cordmg  to  wh.ch 
man  was  c    rupt  through  the  sin  of  the  hrst  couple,  and    he 
death  of  Jesus  on  the  cross  was  t..  be  the  atonmg  s.ur.ticc 
ofTered  by  Go<l  himself,  who  gave  His  own  son  a.  a  rans.>m 
for  the    ins  of  humanity.    This  d.n  trine  he  usc-d  as  a  lever 
with  which,  at  one  In.ld  stroke,  he  was  to  unhinge  the  Mosaic 
law  and  make  the  infant  Church  a  worM-rehg.on.       hrough 
baptism  in  the  name  of  the  Christ,  the  oM  sin-laden  Adam  was 
t<.  be  cast  <.!^  and  the  new  heavenly  Adam,  '"^he  .mage  of 
Christ,  put  on  instea<l.     The  new  covenant  of  God  s  atoning 
love  was  to  replace  the  ..Id  covenant  of  Sinai,  to  abohsh  forever 
the  old  covenant  based  u,H,n  the  Jewish  law.  and  to  set  man- 
kind free  from  all  law.  "which  lH..gets  sin  ami  ^-f  ^  ^-"f  ^^ 
r,  Chri  .   "who  is  the  eml  ..f  the  law."  the  smfulness  of  tht 
flesh  should  be  overcome  and  the  gates  <.f  salvation  bc-^opened 
to  a  world  redeemed  fr.  m  both  death  and  sin.''     The  one 

'  T  E.,  art      lul  of  Tarsus.  „  ,1,.  n.^ 

.Paul's  opp<.n.on  .0  ih.-  law  include  the  mor.1  law  and  even  th    D- 

alo,uc.     See  Roman,  VII-VIII,  X.  4 .  XIV;   I  Cor.  \I.  .-3.    -S.  ML  3' . 

VIII ;  II  Cor.  Ill,  3. 


fc!i 


BV 


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L        L\ 


4t8 


JKWISH    rHKOUH.Y 


:.  y 


'   f 


■^y,^ 


cvntlal  (or  .alv.itlon  wa.  to  uncpt  th.-  »«vurrv  concrrmnR 
th.-  l.irlh  and  .U%Hh  of  Chmt   .iffr  llu-  m.in.ur  of  the  hr:vthen 
mvHtcry  rdiKion.,  uim«  lo  employ  a*  Hacr.imental  ^ymU.h  ..I 
the  mystery  the  rites  .,(  buptiMH  an.l  .ommunion  with  t  hrist^ 
o      This  .y  .ten.  ..(  I'aul,  however.  .Uman.letl  ;i  h^h  pr«. e  .»! 
|„  votaries.     Aceepian.e  ..f  the  helief  nuant  the  .urrendef 
„f  reason  an.l  fr.r  thinking       This  l.rcch  in  pure  m..nothe.sm 
„,»cned  the  cl.H.r  (or  the  wh..le  heathen  niytholony  anil  the 
worship  of   the  ♦.ealhin  cleities  in  a  new  torm.     But   t  ■ 
saddest  result  was  the  dualism  o(  the  system;    the  k-ng.      - 
o(  G.h1  prediu.d  by  the  pr..phets  and  sages  o(  Israel  («  r  ,  . 
humanity  was  trans(erred  f.  the  herea(ter.  and  this  h(i       lu 
all  its  healthy  aspirations  was  (onsidere.1  stnful  and  m    i' 
hands  o(  Satan.     The  . tos.s.  originally  a  si^n  u(  h(e.   bccanu 
(rom  this  lime  and  through  the  Middle  Age*  a  sign  o  death, 
casting  a  sha.h.w  of   sin  u|>on    the    1  hristian  worhl  and  a 
shallow  o(  terror  upon  the  Jew. 

The  greatest  harm  o(  all.  however,  was  done  to  Judaism 
itself      Paul  made  a  cariaiture  of  the  Law.  which  he  declared 
to  be  a  rigid,  external  system,  not  elevating  life,  but  only 
inciting  to  transgn-ssion  and  engemlerii.g  curse      He  even 
aroused  a  feeling  of  hatred  toward  ihe  Law.  which  grew  m 
intensity,  until  il  became  a  source  of  untol.l  cruelty  for  many 
centuries     This  spirit  inrmeated  the  Gospels  more  and  more 
in  their  succes>ive  appearance,  even  hnding  its  way  into  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.     In  the  simple  form  g.ven  m  the 
(;osi)cl  of  Luke  this  was  a  teaching  of  love  and  tenderness; 
in  Matthew,  Jesus  is  represented  as  otlVring  a  new  d.spcnsa- 
tion  to  replace  the  revelation  of  Sinai.^     Here  the  Mosaic 
law  is  presented  as  a  system  of  commandments  demandmg 

'.  1  uVe  Vi '  i'<^4.> ;  "".T...-  with  Matt.  V-\  II .    XXIII.  . S-3'>     S«  Clau.!.- 
Monllrc.  n.-  L.P.U  Co.p.l.  1  an,i  11;  (;   ^^^l^^!^'^- ^i;^ H^^ 

llir  Sermon  on  the  Mu»m,  kon;rr  :      L>.  Nacv!!-t«-n e  »-  JJ-*-        ■ 

Berlin,  igii. 


1 

I 


CIIRISTIASITY   AND   M()IIAMMH)ANl^M  4ig 

austere  a.lhcrcn<f  t<>  the  letter  v.ilh  no  r.•^^tr.|  t..  the  innt-r 
lilc,  wherean.  on  the  other  haiul,  the  aitu.il  ti.uhinKn  ..»  the 
Na/arene  were  atilmuted  by  low  ami  sytiipulhy.  einanaling 
Irom  the  ethital  sj.irit  oi  the  Law      Vet  th,   very  w.ir.h  of 
Jc>u>  in  thi•^  smie  M-rmon  <h>avow  i\.  ry  'linl  of  antinomian- 
iMu:  "Verify  I  ^ay  unto  you,  till  li.av.n  ai»<l  earth  pa^^,  one 
jot  or  one  tittle  shall  In  no  v-Im-  j.a>^  fron>  th.-  Law  till  all  I.e 
Millf.!,"  '     As  a  initter  of  la.t.  th.-  wry  t.a*hin^;.  ol   love 
.     I  mw..r(lne>>  whith  are  imho,lir.|  in  l.olh  the  S.  rmon  on 
;.      Mount   atul   the  t-pl.tle^  ol    P.-ul  vv,ri    largely   a.lopti.j 
,,-.,  the  l'hari«*ean  sthool>  iind  Ha^-Uan  wurk>  a>  well  as 
'om   the  Alexandrian  Proi.aganda  literature  and   the   I'ros- 
.  .yte  Manuals  pre^M-rvt-d  by  the  Chun  h 

In  iatt.  part  ol  this  tritid>m  wa-.  voiied  by  the  r'harisecs, 
as  they  attacked   the  Sadiluiean    in.M-teme  u|>o.i  the  letter 
of  the  Law.     The   Pha-iscan  spirit  of  pro«re-  a{)|)lied   m  >.v 
mcthcMl.  of  interpretation  to  the  Mosai.   Co<W  and  especially 
to  the  Dt'culotfuc.  (lerivins  from  them  a  hi^jh.  t  <  tmiTption  of 
G«k1  and  giKllin.ss.  breaking  the  fetters  of  the  letter,   -.nd 
working  mainly  for  the  holiness  of  the  inner  life  and  the  en- 
deavor to  spread  happiness  about ^     Taking  n<.  herd  of  the 
actual  athie\cmcnts  of  the  Synagogue,  the  I'aulinian  Chunh 
rose  triumphantly  to  [K)wer  after  the  downfall  ..f  the  J.wish 
State  and  impregnated  the  Christian  world  with  hostility  to 
Juda?  m  and  the  Jew,  which  lasts  to  this  very  day.  thus  turn- 
ing in-  gos|K'l  «)f  love  into  a  source  of  religious  natred. 

ic.     Nevertheless  it  cannot  be  denied  that  Paulinian  Chris- 
tianity,  while  growing  into  a  world-conquering  Churt  h.  a.  hieycl 

the  dissemination  of  the  Sinaitic  doctrines  a>  neither  Judaism 
nor  the    Judaeo-Christian  sect  could  ever  have  done.     The 


'Matt.  V,  i7-«8.  ^    .    ..„, 

'See  J.   K.  and  Enc    Rel   and  '  •'.Wi.  art.  Pharisees;   Lauterba^h,      riic 
Sad.  and  Phar."  in  Sit-in  Jr^--  Lit.,  Uerlin.   u>iy,    Hcrford :   Fhansaismi 

-.  __  ...  •-....,  .J       y '-*-« 


^'Mr 


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tn  Li 

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if  '•■ 

lit. 


440  JEWISH  THEOLOGY 

missionar>  zeal  of  the  apostle  to  the  heathen  caused  a  fer- 
mentation and  dissolution  in  the  entire  neo- Jewish  world, 
which  will  not  end  until  all  pagan  elements  are  eliminated. 
Eventually  the  whole  of  civilization  will  accept,  through  a 
purified  Christianity,  the  Fatherhixxl  of  God,  the  only  Ruler 
of  the  world,  and  the  brothcrhooil  of  all  men  as  His  children. 
Then,  in  place  of  an  unsound  overemphasis  on  the  principle  of 
love,  justice  will  be  the  foundation  of  society ;   in  place  of  a 
pessimistic  Dthcr-worldliness.  the  optimistic  hope  for  a  king- 
dom of  GikI  on  earth  will  constitute  the  spiritual  and  ethical 
ideal  of  humanity.     We  must  not  be  blind  to  the  fact  that 
only  her  alliance  with  Rome,  her  holding  in  one  hand  the 
sword  of  Esau  and  in  the  other  the  Scriptures  of  the  house 
of  Jacob,  made  the  Church  able  to  train  the  crude  heathen 
nations  for  a  life  of  dutv  and  love,  for  the  willing  subordina- 
tion to  a  higher  power,  and  caused  them  to  banish  vice  and 
cruelty  from  their  deep  hold  on  social  and  domestic  life. 
Only  the  powerful  Church  was  able  to  develop  the  ancient 
Jewish  institutions  of  charity  and  redeeming  love  into  mag- 
nificent systems  of  beneficence,  which  have  led  civilization 
forward  toward  ideals  which  it  will  take  centuries  to  realize. 

Nor  must  we  overlook  the  mission  of  the  Church  in  the 
realm  of  art.  a  mission  which  Judaism  could  never  have 
undertaken.     The  stern  conception  of  a  spiritual  God  who 
tolerated  no  visible  representation  of  His  being  made  impos- 
sible the  development  of  plastic  art  among  the  Jews.     The 
semi-pagan  image  worship  of  the  Christian  Church,  the  rep- 
resentation of  God  and  the  saints  in  pictorial  form,  favored 
ecclesiastical  art,  until  it  broadened  in  the  Renaissance  into 
the  various  arts  of  modern  times.    Similarly,  the  predominance 
of  mysticism  t)ver  reason,  of  the  emotions  over  the  intellect 
in  the  Church,  gave  rise  to  its  wonderful  creation  of  music, 
endowing  the  soul  with  new  pow.  -s  to  soar  aloft  to  undreamed- 
of heights  of  emotion,  to  be  carried  along  as  upon  Seraph's 


CHRISTIANITY   AND   MOHAMMEDANISM  44^ 

wings  to  realms  where  human  lanRuaRc  falters  and  grows 
faint.  Beytmd  dispute  Christianity  deserves  great  credit  for 
having  among  all  religions  opened  wide  the  flood  gates  of  the 
soul  by  cultivating  the  emotions  through  works  of  art  and 
the  development  of  muMc.  thereby  enriching  human  life  in 

all  directions. 

II.   Islam,  the  other  daughter  of  Judaism,  for  its  part, 
fostered    the   intellectual   side  of   humanity,  so   contemptu- 
ously neglected  by  the  Church.     The  cultivation  of  philosophy 
and  science  was  the  historical  task  assigned  to  the  Moham- 
medan religion.     From  the  sources  of  information  we  have 
about  the  life  and  revelation  of  M*)hammed,  we  learn  that 
the  origin  of  the  belief  in  Allah,  the  God  of  Abraham,  goes 
back  to  an  earlier  period  when  Jewish  tribes  settled  in  south 
Arabia.     Among  these  Jews  were  traders,  goldsmiths,  famous 
warriors,  and  knights  endowed  with  the  gift  of  song,  who  dis- 
seminated Jewish  legends  concerning  Biblical  heroes.'     Amid 
hallucinations  and  mighty  emotional  outbursts  this  belief  in 
Allah  took  root  in  the  liery  soul  of  Mohammed,  who  thus 
received  sublime  conceptions  of  the  one  Cod  and  His  creation, 
and  of  the  world's  Judge  and  His  future  Day  of  Judgment. 
The  sight  of  idolatry,  cruelty,  and  vice  among  his  countrymen 
filled  him  with  In.undless  indignation,  sc  that  he  began  his 
career  as  a  God-sent   preacher  of    rei^ent  '.nee.  modeling  his 
life  after  the  great  piophels  of  yore.     With  drastic  threats  of 
the  last  Judgment  he  tried  to  force  the  idolaters  to  return  to 
Allah  in  true  repentance.     But  few  of  W\>  hearers  believed  in 
his  prophetic  mission,  and  the  leading  men  of  the  city  of 
M-    ca.  who  derive<l  a  large  iiuome  from  the  heath-n  sanc- 
tuary there,  oi>posed  him  with  tierce  and  violent  measures. 

iSfcJ  F  art  Moh.mimcl ;  I^^hm  ;  an-l  the  works  of  Muir,  W.  Robertson 
Smith,  Hirschfel.l;  of  (W-i«.r.  W.il,  Sprmt^.r.  von  Krrm.-r,  No.l.l.'ke  (.nmnie, 
Dozy.  a,i<i  alH.vo  all  CoM/ih.-r.  on  th.  Koran,  Mohammed  and  Islam;  also 
Lnc.  Religion  and  Lthics,  VIII,  Hyi-'A'? 


, '* 


^4j  JEWISH  THEOLOGY 

Thus  h'  was  forced  to  flee  U>  the  Jewish  colony  of  Yathrib, 
afterwards  called  Medina,  "the  city'    of  the  prophet.     He 
hoped  for  recognition  there,  especially  after  he  had  made 
certain  concessions,  such  as  turning  the  face  toward  Jeru- 
salem in  praver,  and  keeping  the  Day  of  Atonement  on  the 
tenth  of  Tishri.     In  addition,  he  emphasized  the  unity  of 
God  in  the  strongest  possible  manner,  and  opposed  every 
encroachment  upon  it  by  the  belief  in  additional  powers  or 
persons,  attacking  the  Christians  on  the  one  hand  and  his 
Arabian  countrvmen  on  the  other,  with  the  sarcastic  phrase : 
"Verily    God  has  neither  a  son,  nor  has  He  any  daughter. 
In  ^ite  of  all  these  facts,  the  Jews  could  not  be  brought  to 
recognize  the  uneducated  son  of  the  desert  as  u  i>rophtt.    There- 
fore his  proffered  friendship  was  turned  to  deadly  hatred  and 
passionate  revenge.    His  whole  nature  underwent   a  great 
change;    his  foimer  enthusiasm  and  prophetic  zeal  wer    re- 
placed bv  calculation  and  worldly  desire,  so  that  the  preacher 
of  repentance  of  Mecca  became  at  the  last  a  lover  of  blood- 
shed robberv  and  lust.     Instead  of  Jerusalem  he  chose  Mecca 
with  its  heathen  traditions  as  thL  center  of  his  religious  sys- 
tem and  aimed  chietly  to  win  the  Arabian  tribes  for  his  divme 

revelation.  . 

Thus  the  entire  Arabian  nation,  full  of  youthlnl  energy, 
burning  with  the  impu'.  e  of  great  deeds,  bore  the  fallh  of  the 
One  God  to  the  world  by  the  sword.     Like  Israel  of  old,  it 
stepped  torth  from  the  .Icsert  with  a  divine  revelation  con- 
tained in  a  hoK  bo.)k.     It  c.nquered  first  the  Christian  lands 
of  tiu'  Eiist,  which  under  the  Trinitarian  dogma  had  lapsed 
from  pure  monothei-^m.  then  the  northern  coast  of  Africa,  and 
it  l-.i.allv  unfurU  H  the  green  flag  of  Islam  over  the  lands  ot 
the  West  tn  free  them  from  the  fanatical  C^hureh.     Ilencefortli 
wir  wa-^  wa"..d  for  centuries  between  the  ()ne  God  ol  Ahr:.- 
ham  and  the  triune  God  of  the  Church  in  both  Sprain  and 
Palestine.     Then  might  the  genius  <.f  history  ask:    -'Watch- 


if    i: 


H 


iiMkLsmum 


CHRISTIANITY   AND    MOIIAMMF.DANISM  44  5 

man,  what  of  the  nipht  ?  Watchman,  what  of  the  ni^ht?" 
And  again  the  words  are  heard,  as  from  on  hi«h  :  '•riu  morn- 
ing Cometh,  and  also  the  night.  '    The  Imal  victory  is  yet  to 

come.  . 

12.   It  cannot  be  denied  ih.ai  the  Muhammcdan  monotheism 
has  a  cert.dn  harshness  an.l  Iduntm-.s      It  cannot   win  the 
heart  by  the  mildness  of  heaven  ..r  the-  roc. ignition  ..f  man  s 
individuaUty.     Islam,  as   the  nam.-  denote-.  .lcmand>  blind 
submission  to  the  will  of   tlod,  and  it  ha.  kd  to  a  tatahsm 
which  paralyzes  the  sense  of   freedom,  an.l  to  a  fanalui>m 
which   treats  everv  other  faith   with  contempt.     Isl.im  has 
remained  a  national  religion,   whi.  h  ha.  never  attained  the 
outlcjok  upon  the  whole  of  humanity,  so  characteristic  ol  the- 
prophets  of  Israel.     Its  view  of  the  lureafter  is  crude  an.l 
sensuous,  while  its  picture  .,f  the  Day  of  Ju.l-menl  bears  no 
trace  of  the  divine  mercy.     On  the  other  han.l,  we  must  re.  ....'- 
nize  that  the  reverence  of  the  K-ran  lent  the  -Men  ..t  the 
Book,"   the  representatives  of  cultur.',  ^;rc-ater  .licnity,  an.l 
provided  a  mighty  incentive  to  Mu.iv  an.l  inciuiry.     Damas- 
cus and  Bagda.l  became  un.ler  tlu-  Caliph^  .enter.  .)t  learning, 
of  philosophical   stu.lv   an.l    sci.-ntilu    invesligali..n.   uniting 
Xcstorian.  Jew,  and  Mohamme.lan  in  the  -jreat  Htort.  t..war.ls 
general   enlightenment.     The    .  onse.i'.ien-       wa>    that    (.reek 
science  and  phil..sophv.  banishe.!  by  tb.e  fhur.l..  were  revive.l 
bv  the  Mohammedan   rulers  an.l   again  culln  :.tc-.l,   m>  that 
Judaism  also  felt  their  fructifying  power.     Our  :n...iern  C  hns- 
tian  civilizaticm.  so-called  by  Christian  hi.t..nan..  i.  largely 
the  fruit  of  the  rich  intelleciual  s.r.ls  ...wn  by  Mohamme.lans 
and  Jews,  after  the  works  of  ancient  (.reeks  ha.l  been  trans- 
lated into  Svrian,  Arabic  an.l  Hebrew  by  a  gn.up  of  Syrian 
Unitarians    (the    Xestc.rians)    a-i^ted    by    Jew.-h    sclu.lars. 

•Sec  Draper.  C.,r!i.>  of  /^.//./-<  -^/^  ,.,;,..;/.'//-'/  A)-^'^'-.' 
of  Europe;  Lk..  Hi-"'^  <^f  K:!.'"'!:"-  Arvir..  I  -  XM-,..- :  H  arf.re  b.- 
tuefn  Religion  and  S.ima;  Krau^kopt  :  J<^'  -^'^  -^^"^"^  '"  ■"^^'""- 


IW^I 


K  'f 


hit-  '■ 


1 


h  ti 


I  i 

^^4  JEWISH  THEOLOGY 

As  for  instance  the  Hohenstaufen  Emperor  Frederick  II.  the 
friend  of  Jewish  and  other  liberal  thinkers,  was  much  more  of 
an  investigator  than  a  In-liever,  so  .li<l  the  spirit  of  investigation 
derived  from  Islam  and  Ju<lai>m  ,H,.rvade  Christendom,  and 
create  the  great  intellectual  movements  whu  h  fmally  under- 
mined its  creeds  and  shattered  its  solidarity  into  -»tcn<hng 
sects      Relun^  to  the  Bible  an.i   the  (lod  of  the  B.ble.  to  a 
Sabbath  devote.1  to  instruction  in  the  word  of  (.o<l.  and  to 
the  recognition  of   human  freedom  an.l  the  sanctUy  of  the 
family  -  this  was  the  watchword  of  the  Ref(,rmatu>n.    Keturn 
to  the  right  of  free  thought  an.l  free  conscience    whuh  im- 
plies the  pure  worship  of  God  as  He  lives  in  the  heart    is 
now  the    watchword  of   those  who  endeavor  to  reform  the 
Protestant   Church.     That   is.  both  are  moved  by  a  desire 
to  return  to  the  principles  an.l  i.leals  set  forth  by   Israel  s 

prophets  of  oUl.  .   ^     ,    ,•  i   ,u  . 

,\     Both  the  Church,  Pn.testant   an.l  Cath.)hc.  an.      h 
Mus,iue  have  a  Provi.lential  mi>^ion  which  they  must  fulhl 
thr.H.gh  the  ages  of  hist.,ry,  until  all  the  heathen  have  learne. 
t.)  worship  Go.l  as  the  spirit  of  h..liness  in  man.  mstead  of 
seeking  Him  in  the  blin.l  forces  of  nature  or  ..f  .lestinv       1  rue 
the  Mohammclan  religion  is  pre.lispose.l  t..  sensuality  ami 
still  awaits  the  process  of  purification  t.)  become  completely 
spiritualized  ;    vet  indications  are  n.>t  lacking  that  a  process  ot 
reform  is  approaching  to  bring  .,ut  the  gol.l  of  pure  mono- 
theism and  cast  off  the  dross  of  Oriental  v.>luptuousness  am 
superstition.     We  must  remember  that  .luring  the  dark  night 
of  medieval  ign.)rance  an.l  barbarism  Islam  carried  thr.mgh- 
out  all  lan.ls  the  t..rch  of  philos.)phy  an.l  scientitic  investiga- 
tion an.l  of  the  pure  faith  in  (W.d.     Kven  to-day  it  accomplishes 
far  more  for  the  advancement  .>f  life  in  the  east  .,f  Asia  an.l 
the  south  of  Africa  than  did  the  Russian  Church  with  her 
gross    superstiti.m   an.l   i.lolatry,  or   even   some  branches  ot 
Protestantism,  with  their  deification  of  a  human  being. 


Ik  jul 


rURISTlANITY  AND   MOHAMMEDANISM  445 

Bftwr.  Chuuh  and  Mosque.  h:ilf<l  .in«l  rU-spisiMl  by  both. 
Ht,).>i  .*n(t  nil  staruls  the  SynaK.)jiUf,  proudly  tonsciaus  of  its 
divin.  miss,.,,  It  Iccls  itself  the  banner-bearer  of  a  truth 
which  br.,ok  n.,  < ompromise,  of  a  justice  which  insists  on 
the  rights  of  all  nun  It  ..ffers  the  Wi)rhl  a  reUgion  of  peace 
and  lov»  a(hnittin>;  no  division  .)r  «liM«)rd  anions;  mankind, 
waiting  for  the  fUy  wlitn  the  (i.xl  of  Sinai  shall  rear  high  His 
throne  in  the  heart  of  all  men  and  nations.  To-day  the 
Synasogue.  rejuxenat.rl  ..  xu-  i,  tluences  of  mcxlern  culture, 
looks  with  ever  greater  ...ntVUiue  to  a  speedy  reuli/ation  of 
its  Messianic  hope  for  all  han\   -.ity. 

Hitherto   Judaism    was    restrained    by    its    two   daughter- 
religions   from  pursuing  its   f.trmer  missionary  activity.     It 
was  force<l  to  employ  all  its  c-n.  rgy  in  the  single  effort  for  self- 
preservation.     Hut  in  the  striking  contrasts  of  our  age.  when 
the  enlightened  spirit  of  huni.inity  struggles  so  bitterly  with 
the  forces  of  barbarism  and  brutality,  we  may  well  see  the 
approaching  .lawn  .>f  a  new  era.     That  glorious  day.  we  feel 
will  witness  the  ultimate  triumph  of  justice  and  truth,  and 
out  of  the  dav  which  is  "neither  .lay  nor  night"  will  brmg 
forth  the  time  when  "the  L.)rd  shall  be  King  over  all  the 
earth,  the  I^jrd  shall  be  One  an.l  His  name  One."'     This 
will  be  an  auspicious  time  for  Israel  to  arise  with  renewed 
prophetic  vig.)r  as  the  bearer  of  a  worl.l-uniting  faith,  as  the 
triumphant    Messiah   of    the   nations.      Thr..ugh    Israel    the 
monotheistic  faiths  of  the  w.)rld  may  fin.l  a  union  s.>  that,  in 
fulfillment  of  the  ancient  pr.,phecy,-  its  Sabbath  may  be  a 
world-Sabbath  and  its  Atonement  Day  a  feast  ol  at-..ne-ment 
ami  re.onciliation  for  all  mankind.     'He  that  believelh  shall 
not  make  haste."' 

Yet  ju^t  because  of  this  univ.i<.Ii-ti.    Messianic  hope  of 
Judaism  it  is  still  imperative,  a^-  it  has  been  thr.)Ughout  the 
past,  that  the  Jewish  people  must  continue  its  separateness 
'  Zcch.  XIV.  fr-g.  '  I>^  l-^^ ».  -'°  '  '^-  ^^^^^^'  '^• 


I  1 


446 


JEWISH  TirEOLOr.Y 


r.^i    f  f      a      I- 


as  "  a  Kingdom  of  priests  and  a  holy  nation,"  and  for  the  sake 
of  its  world-mission  avoid  intcrmarryinR  with  mrmhcrs  ol 
other  sects,  unless  they  esp<mse  the  Jewish  fu.th.'  Israel  s 
particularism,  says  Professor  Lazarus.'  has  its  un.versal.sm 
as  motive  and  aim. 

-Ix   XIX.6;   Nun,.  XXIII,.,;    I>eut.  V,I.  ,-6     1^   '•'^'' ^  '/.^'t" 
H   I'surc  1-iah  XII    - ;  ^h.  A,  l.l.cn  ha  Km  XVI.  . ;  K.nhorn  m  7,....*  /  >mr^ 

'.Sn.    \.  ln.lcx  ;.  V    lntcrmarna«...  J.  K.  art.  In,,  rmarna«.-.  al., 

;!  L.  Ph.lipp.m.  (;.i«.r.  .Aub,  tinhorn  anJ  I.  M  \N  .»c  arc  quoted. 
'Laxurus,  1. 1..,  |  is*;- 


I; 


M 


'f.i 


b 


!^^l 


f.  1- 


t?  . 


.'t.'  '^'^  •:^t 


CHAPTKR  LVni 

Tire  Synagogvf.  and  ns  Institutions 

,    Every  religion,  as  soon  as  it  a.uuns  ^^f^'^^;;l^l 

consciousness,  aims  to  present  a  .„nvuu.n«  form  of  truth  to 

e    ,Uvi<lual  and  to  win  aclherents  in  increas.ng  nu.nbers. 

^  v:n;e.e.s  the  maintenance  of  a  re,i,i<.  .iocs  not  r...... 

its  doctrines,  which  must  .lilfer  according  t..  the  mUlkc 
ual  n  ity  of  the  peu,.le  and  the  prevailing  v.ews  of  each 
^'  T^S,iUtv  is  lasLl  upon  tlu.se  for.n.  an<i  in>t.tut.ons 
;^uch  lend  it  a  pecuUar  character,  and  which  ^^--^y- 
.oHcally  <.r  otherwise,  detmite  ulea.  reh.u.us.  »>'-  •  -^ 
hi.toricd.  For  this  reason  many  evponen  s  of  Judaism 
'::i:,  entirely  di.card  the  idea  cf  a  systematpheo,o,> .  ^ 

insi.t  on  the  ohservance  of  the    ercmun.al  la.s     .  the    me 

es.ential      In  following  tradition  in  this  manner,  they  forget 

Lathe  f<,rm.  of   religious  practice  have  undergone  many 

hanges  in  the  course  of  time.     In  f;u  t.  the  v,tal„y  .f  Juda  .m 

^in\ts  unique  capacity  for  dcvCopnu-nt.     'ts  ever  y.>u  h  u 

,.ind  has  onstantly  created  new  forms  to  ..xpre>  _        uUas 

of  the  time,  or  has  inve>te<l  ..Id  one  w.th  new  "^^-"-J'  . 

.     The  greatest  an.l,  indee.l,  the  unuiue  creation  of  Judat.m 

i,  "the  Synag.>gue,  which  started  it  on  U<  wurM-nn^Mon  and 

Lule  the  Torah  .he  common  pr-perty  of  the  ent.re  people-^ 

;     UlintheKxileasasub<titutefortheTen,,le,Uso^ 

..Up.ed  it  as  a  religious  force  and  a  r^mg  p.n^U^^^^ 
whole  people,  appealing  through  the  V-  -vers  and  Scriptural 
.  Sr.  Kohler:   -Oridna.  Funr.i.n  „f  Oromnni-   .mJ.  hi^m/'  "'^  "^^•^. 
Of  Am.  k..  1907-     Ro^.c.iaa  :  J.-^i^h  (  :  r,  »v       <, 

447 


448 


JEWISH    IIIKOLOC.Y 


T  ' 


iwvjns  to  the  congregation  as  a  whole     Thr  Synagogue  wa« 
Umite.1  to  no  one  locality,  like  the  Temple,  hut  rum-<l  lU 
banner  wherever  Jews  settle.l  thri.ugh.mt  the  gh-be.     It  was 
thus  able  t..  sprea.1  the  truths  of  Judaism  to  the  remotest 
parts  ..f  the  earth,  and  to  invest  the  Sabbath  and  festivals 
with  <lee{HT  meaning  by  utilizing  them  for  the  instructu.n  and 
elevation  of  the  iK-ople.     What  <lid  it  matter,  if  the  Temple 
fell  a  {>rey  to  the  flame  for  a  second  time,  or  if  the  wh.ile  sa-.n- 
fuial  cult  of  the  priesthoo<l  with  all  its  pomp  were  to  cease 
forever?     The  soul  of  Judaism  lived  indestructibly  m  the 
house  of  prayer  an.l  learning.     In  the  Synagogue  wns  fanne.l 
the  holy  flame  which  kindled  the  heart   with  l..ve  of  G<h1 
ai»d  fellow-men ;  here  were  offere.l  sacrifices  more  pleasmg 
t„  (mmI  than  the  bl.MKl  and  fat  of  beasts,  sacril.ccs  of  love 

and  charity.'  . 

5    The  Synagogue  has  its  peculiar  institutions  ami  cere- 
monies, but  no  sacraments  like  those  ..f  the  Church.     Its 
institutions,  such  as  the  festivals,  aim  to  preserve  the  his 
toric  memory  of  the  people;    its  ceremonies,  called  "signs 
or  "testimonies"  in  the  Scripture,  are  to  san.  tify  the  life  of 
the  nation,  the  family,  or  the  iiulividual.     Neither  p..ssesses 
a  sacramental  power,  as  does  baptism  or  communion  in  the 
Church,  in  giving  salvation,  or  imparting  something  of  the 
n;.ture  of  the  Deitv.  or  making  one  a  member  of  the  religious 
rommunitv.     The  Jew  i.  a  member  of  the  Jewish  community 
by  hi>  birth,  whiih  imposes  upon  him  the  obligati.ms  of  the 
c.'nenant  which  Ciu.l  made  willi  Israel  at  Mount  Sinai.     Juda- 
ism is  a  religious  heritage  intrusted  t«)  a  nation  of  priests,  and 
is  not  acquired  by  any  rite  of  cnsei  ration  or  (onfe-ion  of 
faith.     Such  a  form  of  consecration  and  confession  is  required 
only  in  the  case  of  proM-l\ite>  - 

'  See  art.  Svnu-.cue.  in  various  enryr:np.-<ii.,-  Enelow :   Thf  Synaii>igue  in 
Slod.rn  l.if,-:  SihM.ror  1.  c    II    4-");  li"U^sit.  1   i  .  ly;  fl- 
'Ni-  I      ii'MT  !  \1  above,    J    I  .  art.  i'r.)Stl\  t.'. 


THE  SYNA(X)GUK  AND  ITS  INSTITUIIONS         44Q 


It  U  superfluous  to  state  that  Conlirmation  docs  not  l»c>tow 
the  .haraiter  i)f  Ji-w  u|K)n  the  younjj.  ;i»y  niore  than  the 
fornur  rite  of  Har  Mi/.wah  «li(l  u|)on  the  youiiK  hrailite  who 
wa.s  rallnl  up  to  the  rea<lin^  fr«.m  the  Law  in  hi^  thirteenth 
year  as  a  form  of  initiation  into  Jewish  life  ' 

4.   The  rite  of  viriunui>ion  i>  enjoineil  u|>on  the  father  in 
the  Mosaic  Cmle  a.  a  "sinn"  of  the  covenant  with  Abraham, 
to  be  performed  on  every  son  on  the  eighth  <l.iy  after  liirth.' 
Therefore  it  is  held  in  hi|ih  esteem,  an<l  the  lather  term^  the 
ait  in  his  benediction  "a<lmi>>i«)n  into  the  covenant  of  Abra- 
ham";'   but  in  spite  of  this  it  i^  not  a  sacranurtl  an.l  <liK's 
not  determine  membership  in  th.-  Jewi-h  ctmmunity.     The 
operation  was  not  to  be  performed  l>y  a  person  of  sai  red  call- 
in,^'  such  as  priest  or  rabbi,  but  in  amient  Biblical  times  was 
performed  by  women/  and  in  the  Talmudi*    FH-riod  by  the 
surKeon.'     In  fact,  if  no  Jewish  ■>urKeon  was  at  hand,  some 
Talmu.lic  authorities  held  that  a  non-Jewi>h  surgeon  could 
perform   it.      Moreover,  where  hygienic   reaM)n-.  force<l   the 
omission  of  the  rite,  the  man  wa>  >till  a  Jew /     The  rite  itself 
underwent  a  change;    it  wa>  pcrlormtMl  with  stone  knives 
in  Bibli(  al  times,  just  as  in  K^ypt  ami  even  to-d.iy  in  Arabia 
and  Syrian     It  became  a  mark  of  di>tinition  for  the  people 
during  the  Kxile."     But   the  ad  was   invented  with   special 
religious  sanctity  diirinn  the  Syri.m  persecution,  when  many 
J.wi.h  youths  "violated  the  covenant"  in  order  to  appear 
un(ir(umci..'d  when    they  apiuared   in   the   arena  with   the 

'  Se*;  J.  i:  ,  :irl    Bar  Mw«ah  and  t'onfirrnati.in 

» (Jt-n   X\  n.  10   14.  '  ^i"-''-f'^  l'r,iy,rh.  p.  305. 

•l:.x.  IV,  Ji.   M-r  (oniniiMt.irit-;    I'.lxr*:     /■ .  v/>/' »).  M.  M    I.  i^,5 

» Josrphu-     \t.t    \\     ■    I,    Mi.il.    nol.,  Mjl.,  "^"a;    Men   4-'.»;   At). /.. 

3(>h:  n.mp   (nn    H    \1.VI    ,,  "  Al).  /    H  a. 

'  Kx    IV.    .',       Joh     \      ;,    .   .nip    Tvl.r:     h.:rl\  Ili-t.<r\  of  M.tnkind.   517- 

2:2:   J    v..  an.i  i:my>    ..1  k.  1    arivl  I'.thi.^,  .irl    Cir.  unu  i>i.m ,    I'l-.^s:    Knahcn- 

/)('>.  hit'  tdunc.  (III. 

Mien  X\II.  »  If.  o.inp   I'cut   X.  .(,,  Jer.  IX.  :y,  Claude  Montcfiore: 

llibbcrt  Lcctiiri'=;,  22'),  jj;. 


i 


114 


JEWISH  THEOUKiY 


%    s  ■ 


V 


i 


k  w 


I . 


fri 


r  I 


450 

heath,  n  '    At  this  time  new  mcth.Hls  were  '^l^^^^'^^^ '^^^"^^ 
U     ■  .    I-  o(  the  covenant.'  while  pious  mother,  fumi  ma  t 

Un  w...in,.y  to  preserve  the  r.te  of  Abraham  am.>r^  U. 
.hil.lren      Later   on   the  ral.l.i.  even   .let  lured    ur.umUMon 

;:';:::;   .a..uar.a«ain.    the  pit   oM;ehj.na«.^^^ 

K'iHh    th.    guardian  ..Mhe..ve.u.^  ^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
tri.f.l     l«i  k    U>    primitive    ule.    wntn    im    m 

.,;,„  „ur,i.«.-.'  I.U.  in  J.»i>l.  li''-  .'  »-7'  »  "■■ 
.,  m,.unin«  .,n.l  .,.■,:,„„.  .n,!,.,,,...  ...  .h.- ,x,,,,k-     •    h. 

.'„..„a.i.,n  ,.<  .1..-  .l.il.l  -  ""•  l'.«;'>-  "<-'  "    •  ,:T    I, 

Tl„-  i.U:,  un.l.rKi..«  .l-  "'-''<"'-"   ''' :^^''"'  "  "',,,.■ 
I.  i,  ,l„.  s.„u.ilKa.i.,n  ,>.  tlK  J.-wi-l,  l."--h..l.    -  n," 

';.„  n     ..„    hi.   msh;   :,.   a   ,«.,.-.  lial   (a.h.r   of   an„.Wr 

ulur.. .,-  U..  ,.>-..,.l.'    -n.^-  r.,.i.m.,!,s.,.  VK-w   ha.    h.-  Mo^a. 
law  is  m.  r,l.v  hy«ic-i.i.-.  ahlmugh  f..un,l  as  early  a,  1  h.l«, 
,H,il,-  .■rr..nwus.'  ^  ,„  ,^^. 

5,   Till'  sami.'  ralionali.l   Mi'»      »   ""'■"    •>' 

1    .     \..i    VII    I    1;  .\t»'th  III.  11.  To* 

,,04,  afl.r  T..S    1!  r   VI,  ..,  m;   SIuI.    .3/ »>■ 

'  P. 'I.  k   I  1   XIX.  .  .«..    v,,v,    R>l   anil 

,„  „,.rinu,,v,i...  ^^^^^.^  ^.^^^^^^,,. ,    ,,,Hn.,iun„ 

*  /Mm. ;  111  >    •^'  "'■   I'.    '"•  •  ' 

M.iiiii"iii.U-i     »7.>f"i.  III.  ;  .,    ■>  I  MithacUi, 

.  M.iinvmi.U>,  1    ^  .  H*.  -t"*.    ^•""^^•'  ''^"  ^'^'^  ' 
1.*...  IV,  ioi. 


Ill 


TIIK  SYNAt;(X.UK  AND  ITS  INSTITITIONS         451 

dietary  lawt  of  the  Monalf  CckU'.  hut  without  any  justifica- 
tion from  the  Biblitat  |M>int  of  view.     Tht'M«  law*  prohibit 
a-,  unclean  various  sfK-cic^  of  animaln.  or  «iu»  h  as  have  fallen 
(U'.kI  or  as  the  prey  of  wil«l  iHuiHts,  or  t  ertain  jM»rtions  like  1)Io«kI 
anti  suet  '     The   Ihtliness  {'«Kle  states  its  reason   for  theMr 
prohibitions  very  emphatitully :   "I  am  'he  LonI  your  CJ<kI, 
wh«)  have  set  you  apart  from  the  people?*.     Ye  shall  therefore 
separate  Intween  the  clean  beast  and  the  urn  lean,  an«l  be- 
tween the  unclean  fowl  and  the  i  lean  ;  and  ye  shall  not  make 
yiiur  soiiU  dftcstable  by  U-ast.  or  by  fowl,  or  l>y  any  thin>? 
wherewilli  the  Kro""*'  'eenuth,  which  I  hivi-  set  apart  for 
you  to  hold  um  lean.     And  ye  shall  l>e  holy  unto  Me;    for  I 
the  Lord  your  (i<Ml  am  holy,  and  have  set  you  apart  from  the 
IH'oples.    that    ye    should    be    Mine  " '     The    Deuteronomii 
('(kIc  Kives  the  same  reason  for  tht  prohibit ii>n  of  the  uncU-an 
beasts:  "For  thou  art  a  holy  |H'ople  unto  the  Lord  (hy  (iud  " 
It    seems   that    these  |)r<  hibitions  of  "unclean"   food>  were 
intended  originally  f(»r  the  priesthoiul  and  other  holy  men, 
as  appears  in  K/ekiel  an<l  elsewhere*     A^  a  matter  of  fad, 
the  same  class  of  animals  from  which  the  Israelites  were  com- 
manded to  abstain  were  also  forbi<lden  to  the  |)riestsr)r  saints  of 
India.    Persia,    Mest)|>otamia,    and    partly   of    Kjjypt.*     The 
natural   conclusion   is   that    the   Mosaic    law   intentled   these 
rules  as  a  practical  expression  of  its  general  principle  that 

'Lev   XI  i  Dcut.  XIV,  j-jt  ;  Fx    XXII.   ?o.  l.w    \  11.  ;j,   XVII,  9  f  ; 

H-i  Kali-xli\:  tomminury  tu  l.cv    \.,|    II,  .-    iHg,  J.  K  ,  art.  I»ielar>  Laws 
'Lev    XX.  J4-i(>.  whith  b.IimK-i  t..  I.iv    XI.  1  47     <"n>P   tH'"'    XIV, 


i  " 


'Sec  r,/ck.  XI. IV,  \i  .    IV,  14.   Jud   Mil,  7.  -4      'Ih«-  law  in  K»    XXII, 


30.  "  \i  >hall  t«-  h  'ty  men  un 


to  Mr.  thcTfforc  M-diall  not  eat  any  fli-'h  that  is 


l..rn 


if  \ 


Hii-'t-i  in 


the  fii  1(1,"  seems  to  h.uc  Uin  originally  only  for  priists  and 


other  holy  r>un 

'See  /,<;«■<  of  \f>i>ni.  \',  7  ;   11    JO  in 
(•■-m|)  W.tn:  XIW  jH  4S;  74,  1S4;  Pu 


l>i>-  Sztihirr,  11,7;   loa,  Porphyi 


..i.r,//  /»..,.*■,  of  tkf  EjsI,  XXV,  i;i  f.; 

i<i.      h   \\\  .  S   H.  K.  V,  47;  Chwol- 

L)c  Abi.imimiU,  I\  ,  7  ,  Summer,  liM. 


Abh. 


'71 


.UJ;  J.  K,  1. 


.  SW- 


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(,:.\ 


MICROCOfV   RiSOlUTION   TI$T   CHART 

(ANSI  ond  ISO  TEST  CHART  No    2) 


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'J^  (716)   482  -  0300  -  Phone 

^S  ("6)    288  -  5969  -  Fa« 


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452  JEWISH  THEOLOGY 

Israel  was  to  be  "a  kingdom  of  priests  and  a  holy  nation." ' 
In  other  words,  Israel  was  to  fill  the  usual  place  of  the  priest 
among  the  nations  of  the  ancient  world,  a  priest-pople  ob- 
serving the  priestly  laws  of  sanctification.  Whatever  the 
origin  of  these  customs  may  have  been,  whether  they  were 
tabu  laws  in  connection  with  totemism  or  some  other  primitive 
view,  the  Priestly  Code  itself  admits  their  lack  of  an  Israelitish 
origin  by  recognizing  that  they  were  known  to  Noah.'  They 
were  simply  adopted  by  the  law-giver  of  Israel  to  make  the 
whole  people  feel  their  priestly  caUing. 

In  later  times  the  dietary  laws,  especially  abstinence  from 
the  flesh  of  swine,  became  a  mark  of  distinction  which  sepa- 
rated the  Jew  from  his  heathen  surroundings ;   and  they  be- 
came a  symbol  of  Jewish  loyalty  in  the  Syrian  persecutions 
when  pious  Jews  faced  martyrdom  for  them  as  willingly  as 
for  the  refusal  to  adore  the  Syrian  idols.'    In  fact,  Pharisaism 
adopted  the  principle  of  separation  from  the  heathen  in  every 
matter  pertaining  to  diet,  and  this  spirit  of  separatism  was 
strengthened  by  the  scorn  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  and 
afterward  by  the  antinomian  spirit  of  Christianity.    While 
Hellenistic  writers,  eager  to  find  a  universal  meaning  in  these 
laws,  assigned  certain  physical  or  psychic  reasons  for  them," 
the  rabbis  of  the  Talmud  insisted  that  they  were  given  solely 
for  the  moral  purification  of  Israel.    Thus  they  were  to  be 
observed  as  tests  of  Israel's  submission  to  the  divine  will  and 
not  because  of  personal  distaste.     In  their  own  words,  "We 
must  overcome  all  desire  for  the  sake  of  our  Father  in  heaven  "  ; 
and  "Only  to  those  who  wrestle  with  temptation  does  the 
kingdom  of  God  come."  '    In  the  course  of  time  these  pro- 
hibitions were  steadily  extended,  until  they  encircled  the 
whole  life  of  the  Jew,  forming  an  insurmountable  wall  which 
secluded   him  from  his   non-Jewish   environment.     Finally, 


>  Ex.  XIX,  6. 

*  Aiiitca5,  144-170. 


« Gen.  VII,  2,  8.  «  TI  Mace.  VI,  18 ;  VII,  41- 

» Sifra  to  Lev.  XX,  26 ;  Tanh.  to  Lev,  XI,  2. 


^iiiSK^' 


iSt^'^ 


■:^ngaM, 


THE  SYNAGOGUE  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS         453 

separation  from  the  world  came  to  be  regarded  as  an  end  in 
itself.* 

Now,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  these  laws  actually  disci- 
plined the  medieval  Jew,  so  that  during  centuries  of  wild 
dissipation  he  practiced  sobriety  and  moderation ;  as  Mai- 
monides  says,*  they  served  as  lessons  in  self-mastery,  in  curb- 
ing carnal  desire,  and  keeping  him  clean  in  soul  us  well  as 
body.  The  question  remains  whether  they  still  fultill  their 
real  object  of  consecrating  Israel  to  its  priestly  mission  among 
the  nations.  Certainly  the  priestly  character  of  these 
laws  is  no  longer  understood,  and  the  great  majority  of  the 
Jewish  people  who  live  among  the  various  nations  have 
long  discarded  them.  Orthodox  Judaism,  which  follows 
tradition  without  inquiring  into  the  purpose  of  the  laws, 
is  entirely  consistent  in  maintaining  the  importance  of 
every  item  of  the  traditional  Jewish  life.  Reform  Judaism 
has  a  different  view,  as  it  sees  in  the  humanitarianism  of 
the  present  a  mode  of  realizing  the  Messianic  hope  of  Israel. 
Therefore  it  cannot  afford  to  encourage  the  separation  of 
the  Jew  from  his  environment  in  any  way  except  through 
the  maintenance  01  his  religion,  and  cannot  encourage  the 
dietary  laws  as  a  means  of  separatism.  Its  great  problem 
is  to  find  other  methods  to  inculcate  the  spirit  of  holiness 
in  the  modern  Jew,  to  render  him  conscious  of  his  priestly 
mission,  while  he  lives  in  imison  and  fellowship  with  all  his 
fellow-citizens.' 

6.  The  tendency  to  distinguish  the  Jew  from  his  non-Jew- 
ish neighbor  in  the  course  of  time  found  expression  in  the 
laws  for  wearing  phylacteries  (lefillin)  on  his  forehead  and 
arm,  a  special  sign  on  the  doorpost  of  his  house    (mezuzzah) 

»  Shab.  17  b;  Ab.  Z.  36  b,  38  a,  8  a;  Sanh.  104  a;  P.  d.  R.  El.  XXIX. 

'  Moreh,  III,  25 ;  see  also  Morris  Joseph,  1.  c.  180-189. 

'  For  the  orthodox  view,  see  S.  R.  Hirsch :  lloreb,  Chap.  LXVIII ;  M. 
Friedlander:  The  Jrwish  Religion,  237;  for  the  reform,  Einhom:  Sinai,  1859; 
Kohler:  Jewish  Time!:,  1872;   Oeiper :  Gcs,  Si'hr,  I,  2:3  f. 


fi^5r!KJs&."KTit.-;vr.' 


r7>.ii«'A.*w.« 


454 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


lii^ 


tj.iti*. 


h'' 


jJsi  iS" 


and  fringes  (zizith)  on  the  four  corners  of  his  shawl  (tallith)} 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  original  Biblical  passages  had  no  such 
meaning,  but  acquired  it  through  rabbinical  interpretation. 
The  Mosaic  law  said :  "And  thou  shalt  bind  them  for  a  sign 
upon  thy  hand,  and  they  shall  be  for  frontlets  between  thine 
eyes.  And  thou  shalt  write  them  upon  the  doorposts  of  thy 
house  and  upon  thy  gates."  This  refers  clearly  to  the  words 
of  God,  admori'shing  the  people  to  keep  them  in  mind,  as 
the  preceding  verse  indicates.  Likewise,  the  precept  regard- 
ing the  fringer-  upon  the  four-cornered  garment  emphasizes 
rather  the  blue  thread  in  the  fringes,  which  is  to  help  the  people 
remember  the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  that  they  may 
not  go  astray,  "following  after  the  promptings  of  their  own 
hearts  and  eyes."  As  the  name  phylacteries  shows,  these 
were  originally  talismans  or  amulets.  True,  the  law  as  stated 
in  Deuteronomy  may  be  taken  symbolically ; '  but  the 
corresponding  passage  in  Exodus,  which  is  traditionally  re- 
ferred to  the  phylacteries,  indicates  its  origin  by  its  close  re- 
lation to  the  Passover  sacrifice.  The  blood  of  this  was,  no 
doubt,  put  originally  on  the  arm  and  forehead,'  which  is 
still  done  by  the  Samaritans  *  and  has  striking  parallels  in  the 
practice  of  the  Fellahin  in  Palestine  and  Syria.'^  Originally 
the  sacrificial  blood  was  supposed  to  ward  off  evil  spirits  from 
men,  beasts  and  houses  or  tents,  and  gradually  this  pagan 
custom  was  transformed  into  a  religious  precept  to  consecrate 
the  body,  life,  and  home  of  the  Jew.  In  more  ancient  times  the 
phylacteries  were  worn  by  pious  men  and  women  all  day  and 
not  merely  during  the  time  of  prayer,  and  seem  to  have  served 

'  Deut.  VI,  8-9;  XI,  18-20;  Num.  XV,  38-39. 

'  Comp.  Prov.  Ill,  3 ;  Samuel  ben  Meir  to  Ex.  XIII,  9. 

'  Ex.  XIII,  9  and  commentaries. 

*  Stanley :  Hist,  of  the  lavish  Church,  I,  561 ;  Peterman :  Reisen  im  Orient, 

I>  237. 

'  Curtiss :   Ursemitische  Religion,  Chap.  XX-XXI ;   Kohler :  Monalschrift, 

1S90,  P-  445,  note. 


THE  SYNAGOGUE  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS         455 

both  as  a  religious  symbol  and  an  amulet.  This  was  certainly 
the  case  with  the  mezuzzah  on  the  doorpost  antl  probably 
with  the  blue  thread  at  the  corners  of  the  tallilh}  As  both 
phylacteries  and  tallith  tame  into  use  at  the  divine  service  in 
connection  with  the  recital  of  the  Shema  and  the  chapter  on 
the  zizith,  the  symbols  assumed  a  higher  meaning.  Arrayed 
in  his  vestments,  the  pious  Jew  offered  daily  allegiance  to 
his  Maker,  feeling  that  he  was  thereby  protected  from  evil 
within  and  without;  similarly,  the  sacr».d  sign  upon  the 
door  both  consecrated  and  protected  his  home.  Even  with 
this  conception  the  talismanic  character  was  never  quite 
forgotten.  Throughout  the  Middle  Ages  the;-  ceremonies 
were  observed  as  divine  commandments;  and  tradition 
having  seemingly  fixed  them  for  all  time,  the  Jew  took 
great  pride  in  the  fact  t'lat  he  was  "distinguished"  in  many 
ways,  and  especially  in  his  forms  of  worship.*  Of  course, 
they  distinguished  him  far  more  when  these  ceremonies 
were  practiced  for  the  entire  day.  Since  the  modern  era  has 
brought  the  Jew  nearer  to  his  neighbors  and  he  has  opened 
the  Synagogue  to  invite  the  non-Jewish  world  to  hear  its 
teachings,  these  practices  have  lost  their  hold  upon  the 
people,  becoming  meaningless  forms.  The  wearing  of  these 
sacred  symbols  while  at  prayer  seems  superfluous  as  a 
means  of  "turning  men's  hearts  away  from  frivolous  and 
sinful  thoughts."' 

7.  The  most  important  institution  of  the  Synagogue,  and 
the  one  most  fraught  with  blessing  for  all  mankind,  is  the 
Sabbath.     Although  its  name  and  existence  point  to  a  Baby- 

'  Ber.  6  a,  14  b,  23  a,  b;  Tos.  Ber.  VII,  25;  Midr.  Teh.  to  Ps.  VI,  i ;  Yer. 
Peah  I,  IS  d  ;  Targum  Song  of  Songs,  VIII,  3  ;  Pes.  nib;  Schorr  :  Hellaliitz, 
VII,  56-57;  Baentsch:  Comm.  to  Num.  XV,  37;  also  Schuerer,  G.  V.  II, 
483-486. 

»  Cant.  R.  Ill,  II ;  Sifre  Deut.  43  ;  M.  K.  16  b. 

'  Kohler,  1.  c. :  comp.  Schechter :  Studies,  I,  249 ;  Morris  Joseph,  1.  c,  p.  178, 
where  he  quotes  Maimonides  II.  Tefilliu  R',  .-3. 


4S6 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


i  (■  i  I 


'I    i' 


if   f-v:-T 


|ik:U 


i  ^  ;*l 


J'^l 


ill    ■ 


Ionian  origin,'  it  is  still  the  peculiar  creation  of  the  Jewish 
genius  and  a  thief  pillar  of  the  Jewish  religion.    As  a  day  of 
rest  crowning  the  daily  labor  of  the  week,  it  testifies  to  the 
Creator  of  the  universe  who  made  all  that  is  in  accordance 
with   His  <livine  plan  of  perfection.    The  underlying  idea 
expressed  in  Scripture  is  that  the  Sabbath  is  a  divine  insti- 
tution.    As  God  himself  worked  out  His  design  for  the  world 
in  absolute  freedom  and  rested  with  delight  at  its  comple- 
tion, so  man  is  to  follow  His  example,  working  during  six 
days  of  the  week  and  then  enjoying  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath 
with  a  mind  elaled  uy  higher  thoughts.     Moreo.^     the  day 
of  rest  observed  by  Israel  should  recall  his  redemption  from 
the  slavery  and  continual  labor  of  Egypt.    Thereby  every 
creature  made  in  God's  image,  the  slave  and  stranger  as  well 
as  the  born  Israelite,  is  given  the  heavenly  boon  of  freedom 
and  recreation  to  hallow  the  labor  of  the  week.    There  are 
thus  two  explanations  given  for  the  Sabbath,  one  in   the 
Decalogue  of  Exodus,  the  Holiness  Code  and  Priestly  Code,* 
the  other  in  the  Decalogue  of  Deuteronomy  and  the  Book  of 
the  Covenant.' 

These  two  views,  in  turn,  gave  rise  to  diflfcrent  conceptions 
of  the  Sabbath  laws.  Many  ancient  teachers  laid  chief  stress 
on  the  letter  of  the  law  which  bids  men  cease  from  labor. 
Others,  who  penetrated  farther  into  the  spirit  of  Deuteronomy 
and  the  Covenant  Code,  emphasized  the  human  need  for 
relaxation  and  refreshment  of  soul.  The  older  school,  espe- 
cially the  Sadducees,  demanded  absolute  cessation  of  labor  on 
pain  of  death  for  any  work,  however  insignificant,  and  even 
for  the  moving  from  one  place  to  another.     Tiiey  thought  of 

•  See  art.  Sabbath  in  various  encyclopedias  and  the  Babel-Bibel  contro- 
versies; Zimmern  and  Schrader:  X.  A.  T.,  II,  592  f.;  Jastrow :  American 
Journal  of  Theology,  iSqS,  p.  315-352- 

'Ex.  XX,  8-1 1 ;  XVI,  23-29;  XXXV,  2-3;  XXXI,  13;  comp-  Jer. 
XVIII.  ?!-?7:.    Neh.  XIII,  15-18. 

•Deut.  V,  12-is;  Ex.  XXIII,  12;  XXXIV,    i;  comp.  Isa.  LVIII,  13. 


ri; 


'^■'issw^M&^mnsmmm^ss^wsKT^h  "iic^' .  t^  -ir-  2Br.!aB&s"^3»7- 


-■*.-»•*=•. 


THE  SYNAGOGUE  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS         457 

the  Sabbath  as  a  sign  of  the  covenant  between  (iod  and  Israel, 
and  hence  held  that  it  should  be  observed  as  |)unrliliously 
as  possible.'  In  tht  same  measure  as  the  Pharisees,  with  their 
program  of  religious  democracy  and  common  sense,  obtained 
the  upper  hand,  the  Biblical  strictness  of  tht  S.ibbath  law  was 
modified.  The  term  labor  was  defined  by  analogy  with  the 
work  done  for  the  tabernacle,  and  so  restricted  as  to  make  the 
death  penalty  much  more  limited.''  Moreover,  the  Pharisees 
held  that  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  not  man  for  the 
Sabbath ; '  so,  although  they  adhered  strictly  to  the  prohibi- 
tion of  labor,  the  Sabbath  received  at  their  hands  more  of  the 
other  element,  and  became  a  day  for  the  elevation  of  the 
soul,  "a  day  of  delight"  for  the  spirit.*  The  whole  man, 
body  and  soul  alike,  should  enjoy  God's  gifts  more  fully  on 
this  day;  he  should  cast  ofT  care  and  sanctify  the  day  by 
praise  offered  to  God  at  the  family  table.  At  a  very  early 
period  in  Israel  the  Sabbath  was  distinguished  by  the  words  of 
instruction  and  comfort  offered  by  the  prophets  to  the  people 
who  consulted  them  on  the  day  of  rest.*  During  the  E.xile 
and  afterward  the  people  assembled  on  the  Sal)l)ath  to  hear 
the  word  of  God  read  from  the  Torah  and  the  prophets  and 
to  join  in  prayer  and  song,  which  soon  became  a  permanent 
institution.*  Thus  the  Sabbath  elevated  and  educated  the 
Jewish  people,  and  afterward  transferred  its  blessings  also 
to  the  Christian  and  Mohammedan  world.  Especially  during 
the  Middle  Ages  the  Sabbath  became  an  oasis,  a  refreshing 
spring  of  water  for  the  Jew.     All  through  the  week  he  was  a 

'Sec  Jubilees  II,  23-30;  L,  6;  GeiRer,  Zcituh.,  1S6S,  116;  Xacligd. 
Schr.,  Ill,  286  f.;  \,  142  i.;  Schechter :  Documrnt  of  a  Jr-^i\k  Sect,  I;  XXV; 
XLVIII-L ;  Halevi :  The  Commandmrnls  of  the  Sabbalh  for  the  Falasnas, 
1902 ;  Harkavy  L.  K.,  II,  60  f.,  for  the  Karaites. 

»Shab.  VII,  2,   70  a;  Mek.  Wayakhel. 

•  Mek.  Ki  Thisla  i,  comp.  Mark  II,  2  f. 

*  Isa.  LVIII;  Shab.  118  a,  b;  Mek.  Yithro  VII;  Pes,  R.  XXIII,  p.  121. 
'  II  KiuKb  IV,  23.  =  Fhiio  II,  137,  166,  201,  631. 


ii-7myxmiy_  ■mityyATtvTvyr^TiprjMgjyjamKA-rrv  f 


'■II 


i 


If  '■ 


•«  ..■ 


M,,  .W 


'I: 


Vl 


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I  . 


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t     M 
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it 


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m 


it 


458 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


Pariah  in  the  outside  world,  but  the  Sabbath  brought  him 
bliss  in  his  home  and  spiritual  power  in  his  Synagogue  and 
schot)l.  Cheerfully  be  boie  the  yoke  of  statutes  and  ordi- 
nances that  ^rew  ever  heavier  umler  the  rabbinical  amplilica- 
tion;  for  he  haile  '  'he  Sabbath  as  the  "queen"  that  raised 
him  from  a  hated  wi.nderer  to  a  prince  in  his  own  domain.' 

Modern  life  has  worked  great  changes  in  the  Jewish  observ- 
ance of  the  Sabbath.     Caught  up  in  the  whirl  of  commercial 
and  industrial  competition,  the  Jew,  like  Ixion  in  the  fable, 
is  bound  to  his  wheel  of  business,  and  enjoys  neither  rest  for 
his  body  nor  elevation  for  his  soul  on  God's  holy  day.     True, 
the  Synagogue  still  preserves  the  sanctity  of  the  ancient 
Sabbath,  however  small  may  be  the  attendance  at  the  divine 
service,  and  in  many  pious  homes  the  family  still  rallies  around 
the  festive  table,  lighted  by  the  Sabbath  lamp  and  decorated 
by  the  symbolic  cup  of  wine.     But  for  the  majority  of  Western 
Jews  the  Sabbath  has  lost  its  pristine  sanctity  and  splendor, 
to  the  great  detriment  of  Jewish  religious  life.     Therefore 
many  now  ask:  "Is  it  sufficient  to  have  a  vicarious  observ- 
ance of  the  historical  Sabbath,  the  'sign  between  God  and 
Israel,'  by  an  hour  or  two  in  the  Synagogue,  but  without  rest 
for  the  entire  day?    Or  shall  the  civic  day  of  rest,  though 
Christian  in  origin  and  character,  take  the  place  of  the  Jewish 
Sabbath  with  its  sacred  traditions,  so  that  possibly  at  last 
it  may  become  the  Sabbath  day  predicted  by  the  seer  upon 
which  '  all  flesh  shall  come  to  worship  before  the  Lord  '  ?  "  ^    In 
the  halcyon  days  of  the  reform  movement  in  Germany  this 
view  was  often  expressed  when  the  radical  reformers  cele- 
brated the  civic  day  of  rest  as  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  not  in 
the  spirit  of  dissension,  but  for  the  sake  of  giving  Judaism  a 
larger  scope  and  a  wider  outlook.     In  America,  too,  the  idea 

'  See  Schechter :  Studies,  I,  249  f- ;  Morris  Joseph,  1.  c,  202-214. 
'See  David  Philipson :    Reform  Movement  in  Judaism,  27S-302.  S03-5o8i 
E.  G.  Hirsch  in  J.  E.,  art.  Sabbath;  Sabbath  and  Sunday. 


THE  SY\.\l,()<.lK  AM)   ITS   INSTITl  IIONS 


450 


of  transffrrin^  the  Sahbaih  \n  Siiiid.iy  w.i>^  l)rt)ai  luil  l)y  some 
Icadii)}'  Kcforiu  ral)l)i^  and  iiul  with  hearty  support  on  ihc 
part  of  thi'ir  cotinrtKafi"ii>.  Siiur  thru  ;i  niDri-  toiisiTvative 
view  has  takt-n  hold  of  mn^t  ol  the  Uhtral  tKiiU'tits  of  Jfwry 
also  in  Aimri<a.  While  divine  ^ervit  e  0:1  Suinlay^  has  heen 
introduced  wi'h  decided  Miners  in  many  lities  and  eminent 
preachers  brin^  the  messuKc  of  Judaism  home  to  thousands 
that  would  otherwise  remain  ^trarr^rr>  to  the  Iioum-  of  Ciod 
and  to  the  influence  of  religion,  tlu'  lonviition  has  heiome 
well  established  that  the  continuity  uilh  our  ure.il  paNl  must 
be  upheld,  and  the  Kt'nt'ral  feeling  is  tiiat  the  hi>torical  Sab- 
bath should  under  no  condition  be  entirely  ;^iven  up.  It  is 
inseparably  connected  with  the  election  of  Israel  a>.  a  i)riest- 
people,  while  the  Christian  "Lord'.  I)ay"  represents  views 
and  tendencies  opposed  to  those  of  Judai>m.  whether  con- 
sidered in  its  original  meaning  or  in  that  given  it  by  the 
Church.'  The  Jew  mny  properly  use  the  civic  day  of  rc>.t 
in  common  with  his  Christian  fellow-citi/en  for  religious 
devotion  and  instruction  for  young  and  old  ;  it  will  supple- 
ment his  neglected  Sabbath  service,  until  conditions  have 
changed.  Perhaps  the  Jew  in  .Mohammedan  countries  may 
even  at  some  time  observe  Friday  as  is  done  by  the  Moscjue, 
and  accordingly  consecrate  this  day  in  common  with  his  fellow- 
citizens.  Still,  between  the  Sabbath  observed  by  the  Church 
and  the  one  of  the  MoscjUe  stands  the  Jewish  Sabbath  in 
solemn  grandeur  and  patriarchal  dignity,  waiting  with  Israel, 
its  keeper  and  ally,  for  the  day  when  all  humanity  will  worship 
the  one  holy  God  of  Abraham,  and  when  our  ancient  Sabbath 
may  truly  become  the  Sabbath  of  the  world. 

8.    In  all  lands  time  was  originally  regulated  by  the  move- 
ments of  the  moon,  which  are  within  the  observation  of  all. 
The  alternation  of  its  increase  and  decrease  divided  the  month 
into  two  parts,  which  were  then  subdivided  into  four.     Therc- 
'  See  SchaU-Ucrzog  hniyi,.,  art.  Isunciay. 


ii^ 


en <*=y  '1.  HE.*:. r<  x^:. mfs^- ^r - z.' 


46o 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


Iffii 


•«1 


1 


.■'Kyi 


i 


1 1  j> !'  .j' 


I4> 

'1. 


1    !        J 


. 


I 


I 


IV 


fore  the  original  month  among  Imth  the  Babylonians  and  the 
HebrewH  tonsistnl  of  four  weeks  of  sv  ven  days  each,  the  last 
day  of  each  week  being  the  Sabbath,  the  "day  of  stamUtill," 
and  two  days*  of  the  new  moon*  Both  the  new  muon  and  full 
m(M>n  were  special  days  of  celebration,*  and  later  two  other 
Sabbath  days  were  added  between  them  to  corrc»pt)nd  to  the 
four  phases  of  the  m«M)n.  Still  later  the  week  was  detached 
altogether  from  the  mocn  and  made  a  fixed  |H'ri«Hl  of  seven 
days,  solemnly  ende<l  by  the  Sabbath.  Thus  Judaism  raised 
the  S;d)bath  above  all  dependence  on  nature  and  into  the  realm 
of  holiness.  The  Jewish  Sabbath  became  the  witness  to  Gou, 
the  Creator  ruling  above  nature  in  absolute  freedom.' 

Still  the  ancient  festival  of  the  new  moon  was  preserved  as 
an  observance  in  the  Temple,  and  it  afterward  survived  only 
in  the  liturgy  of  the  Synagogue.  While  ancient  Israel  had 
observed  the  New  Mtwn  as  a  day  of  rest  even  more  sacred 
than  the  Sabbath,*  the  Priestly  Code  placed  it  among  the  fes- 
tivals only  as  a  day  of  sacrifice,  but  as  neither  a  day  of  rest 
nor  of  popular  celebration.*  Beside  the  recital  of  the  HalUl 
Psalms  and  the  Mussaf  ("additional")  prayer  in  the  Syna- 
gogue no  religious  significance  was  attached  to  it  in  the  daily 
life  of  the  people.  Still  the  fact  that  the  Jewish  calendar  was 
regulated  by  the  moon,  while  that  of  other  nations  depended 
on  the  solar  year,  led  the  rabbis  to  compare  the  unique  his- 
tory of  Israel  to  the  course  of  the  moon.  As  the  moon  changes 
continually,  waxing  and  waning  but  ever  renewing  itself  after 
each  decline,  so  Israel  renews  itself  after  every  fall ;  while  the 
proud  nations  of  the  world,  which  count  their  year  by  the 
course  of  the  sun.  rise  and  set,  as  it  docs,  with  no  hope  of  re- 

'  See  I  Sam.  XX,  5-27,  where  the  two  new-moon  days  are  spyoken  of  as 
appruaihing,  proving  the  use  of  the  Babylonian  month  of  four  weeks  of  seven 
days  each,  and  two  new-moon  days. 

'  II  Kings  IV,  23;  Prov.  VII,  20;  comp.  Ps.  LXXXI,  4,  Kese. 

«Ex.  XX.  m:  Gen.  II.  2-3. 

*  II  Kings  IV,  23 ;  Isa.  I,  13 ;  LXVI,  23.  •  Num.  XXVIII,  u  f. 


.^r  :j^">  "iK-  - 


TWE  SV'NAGOGUE  AND  ITS  INSFITUTIONS 


461 


ncwal.'  At  the  same  time,  ussuramr  was  found  in  the  pro- 
phetic words  that  "the  light  of  the  miKm  ^hail  be  as  the  light 
of  ihe  sun  and  the  light  of  thr  ^un  «<hall  lie  M-venfold  as  the 
light  of  the  seven  days"  an«l  "ihy  (Israel's)  sun  shall  nu  nn)re 
g«)  down,  neither  shall  thy  moon  withdraw  itself,  for  the  L  'rd 
shall  \h'  thine  everlasting  light."  ' 

Q.  The  various  Jewish  festivals,  like  the  Sahhath,  were 
detathed  from  their  original  relation  to  nature  and  turned 
Into  historical  memorials,  ehujuent  testimonies  to  the  great 
works  of  Ci«kI  and  of  Israel's  power  of  rejuvenation.  The 
Passover  was  originally  the  spring  festival  of  the  shepherds 
when  they  hallowed  the  thresholds,^  hut  was  later  identified 
with  the  agricultural  Feast  of  Unleavened  Bread  in  Palestine, 
and  at  an  early  jK'rio<l  was  further  transformed  into  a  festival 
of  redemption.  The  former  rites  of  consecration  t)f  tent 
and  herd  were  taken  as  symbols  of  the  wondrous  deliverance 
of  the  Hebrews  from  the  Eg>'])tian  yoke.  The  sacritke  of 
the  "passing  over  the  threshold,"  with  the  sprinkling  of  the 
blood  on  the  doorposts  and  lintels  of  each  h«»u-e  observed 
each  spring  exactly  as  is  still  done  among  th<  sen^  papan 
inhabitants  of  Syria  and  Arabia,  was  reinterpreted  tim- 
ing to  the  Mosaic  code  it  indicated  the  \v«)ndrou>  passii  A 
the  angel  of  death  over  the  thresholds  of  the  I>raifitt-  in 
Egypt,  while  he  entered  the  homes  of  the  Euyptians  t^  i* 
the  lirst-born  and  avenge  the  wrongs  of  l>riel.''  Lik 
the  cakes  of  bread  without  leaven   (the  .\fiizzolli)  baki 

»  Mck.  Bo  I;  Pes.  R.  XV;  P.  d.  R.  El.  LI;  Sanh.  42  a;  Singer's  /'ra. 
39a. 

»Isa.  XXX,  26;  LX,  20. 

'  Ex.  XII,  11-27;    Dcut.  XV'I,  I ;    see  the  commtntaries,  also  Clay  Irur. 
bull:  The  Threshold  Coieniint;  Curli'^s,  I.  c. 

♦  In  Deut.  the  Passover  sarrifirc  was  the  tir';t-lM)rn  of  the  floik,  see   I'    >! 
XVI,  1,  comp.  with  E.x.  XIII,  .'-16.  and  the  celebration  took  place  on  th 
niRht  of  the  new  moon.    The  Priestly  Code  observed  it  on  the  full  moon,  wit! 
A  larnh  instead  of  the  first-born  sheep  or  cattle.     Ex.  XII,  3  f. ;   Lev.  XXIII,  5 
(the  Holiness  Code) ;  Josh.  V,  10. 


1; 


,  I 


1 


46a 


JKWISII  THKOt.OC.Y 


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th«'  festival  were  taken  ;ih  rrniinileM  i>f  the  hasty  eyKlufi 
«>(  thr  falhcrn  frorn  Iht-  laiiii  of  i)f>pr('s<tion.  Thus  tht*  spring 
ft'>tiv.il  hn.i'iu-  a  iTM'tnuri.il  il  llu-  spring; time  of  lilnrty  for 
till  nation  and  at  thi-  ^amc•  tinu-  a  ronM'rration  of  thr  Jowii^h 
honu-  to  thr  tovi  '  .ivt  (i«Kl  of  Inrai'l.  (io<l  was  to  t-nti-r  the 
Jewish  h..mr  an  \\v  did  in  KKyi>t,  an  the  Redft-mer  and  Pro- 
liilorof  I-rarl.  V'ounK>in<l  old  li>.trnc-d  with  |HTrnnial  inter- 
est t(»  the  story  of  th«'  di li\trant r,  olTering  praise  for  the 
Wonders  of  the  past  an«l  voic  inj?  their  lonlidenec  in  the  future 
redemption  from  op[»ression  and  woe. 

However  hurdensome  the  Passover  minuti:r.  c;*iMHially  in 
regard  to  the  |)rohil)ition  of  leaven,  became  to  the  Jewish  house- 
hold, the  predominant  feature  was  always  an  exuberance  of 
jt)y.  In  the  «lark«st  days  of  medievalism  the  synagoijue  and 
home  resouncled  with  son^  and  thanksj,jivin>.',  and  the  young 
Imbibed  the  joy  and  comfort  of  their  elders  through  the  beau- 
tilul  svnibols  of  the  feast  and  the  rithly  adorned  tale  of 
the  deliveranie  (tlu'  llniii^adtifi).  I'he  I'assover  feast  with  its 
"niK'ht  of  divine  walihinK"  endowed  the  Jew  ever  anew  with 
endurance  during  the  dark  night  of  medieval  tyranny,  and 
with  faith  in  "the  Ket{)er  of  Israel  who  slumbereth  not  nor 
sleepeth."  '  Moreover,  as  the  s{)ringtide  of  nature  tills  each 
creature  with  joy  and  hope,  so  Israel's  feasl  (>f  redemi)tion 
|)romises  the  great  flay  of  liberty  to  those  who  still  chafe  under 
the  yoke  of  oppression.  'I'he  modern  Jew  is  beginning  to  see 
in  the  reawakening  of  his  religious  and  social  life  in  western 
lands  the  t<»ken  of  the  future  liberation  of  all  mankind.'  '^he 
Passover  feast  brings  him  the  clear  and  hopeful  message  of 
freedom  for  humanity  from  all  bondage  of  body  and  of  spirit. 

10.  The  Feast  of  Weeks  or  Festival  of  the  First  Fruits 
in  IJihlical  times  was  merely  u  fanner's  holiday  at  the  end  of 

'  Atmut  ihf  »v,iti  li-ninht,  see  Juhilws  XI.      'I,  5;    F'f<.ih.  roQ  b. 
'Sec    {•".inhorn's    Pniycrhnok.    4.S5  :     Holdlu'im  ■     Predietrn,    iSej,    II,     iKo, 
referring  to  Jir.  XXIII,  7-8;  Tos.  Her.  I.  u;   Uer.  u  b. 


THF.  SYNA(KXiUF.   AND   ITS  IVsIlll'TIONS         4^^ 


tho  M'sen  wit'ks  of  h.irvi!»t  Al  llu*  lnKimuiiK  nf  tlif  ljarvi"*t 
pan  hr«|  uraifH  o(  harUv  wm-  ntTitnl,  \sW\W  at  iu  iiul  two 
loaviH  of  \\u'  rirw  whr.it  lluur  wtrt'  Itr'Hij^hl  .i-»  .1  th.iiik  nlh-r 
itiK  for  •hf  fU'w  rrop.'  Kahhinii.il  Juilai\m.  hn\v«\tr.  Irarin- 
(iirnu'll  it  into  a  hi^torital  fcanl  l)y  niakin^  it  the  nitiMnrial 
(lay  «>f  thr  K'^inK  •»'  ''>''  J^""  Word^  on  Muiinl  Sinai  It  wan 
thus  K'von  a  univi-rsal  >iKnituaii((-.  a-,  thr  Mi<lra>h  lia-^  it, 
"turning  the  Feast  of  tht-  |•'ir^t  l"ruil>  into  a  lr»ii\al  mm 
mcnxiratiriK  thi*  ri|M-nittK  of  ilu-  lirNl  fruit-*  of  thi-  --piiitiial 
harvest  for  thr  |M'op|r  of  tho  tovt-nant  "  *  llrtm  forth  thf  I'm 
Words  wi-ri-  to  hv  so'vmnly  read  to  the  t on^^rl•^;alio^  on  that 
day,  and  thr  pledm-  o(  loyalty  m.idf  Ity  the  f.ilhtrs  thri-hy 
ronewnl  viuh  year  by  Israi-I's  f.iilhful  Mlr^^.  Thr  li-idrr^  of 
Reform  Judaism  surn»untled  the  da\  with  .n  w  iharm  l>y  the 
Intrtnluetion  of  the  lonlirmation  eereniony.'  thu-.  rendirinn 
it  a  feast  of  consecration  of  the  Jiwi^h  youth  to  the  .iiuienl 
covor.ant,  of  yearly  renewal  of  loyalty  l»y  thi-  ri^in^  genera- 
tion t«)  the  ancestral  faith. 

II.  The  main  festix.il  in  Hiiilii.il  time-,  w.is  the  I'Vast  of 
Siikkotli,  or  Tabernacles,  the  ^reat  harvi-,t  fi  --tival  "f  autumn, 
when  the  jK'ople  flocked  to  the  niitral  >anttuar\  in  solemn 
procession,  carrying  palms  and  otlicr  pl.mts,  ||rn»c  this 
was  called  the  //<;,(,'  or  I'llgrimaije  l'ca->t  '  In  the  post  exilic 
I'riestly  OmIc  this  festival  also  was  made  historii  al.  and  the 
name  l-'east  of  Sukkoth  (which  denotid  orininally  Feast  of 
PilKrimaj^e  Tents)  was  conne.  ted  with  the  .'Xoilus  from  Fjiyfit, 
when  the  town  of  Snlckotli  (possibly  named  from  llu-  t^nts  of 
their  encampment)  vva  ^  made  the  rallying'  j-oint  of  the  fugi- 
tive Hebrews  at  thi-ir  departure  from  F.jJ:>|)t.  The  lom- 
mentators  no  lonjvr  understood  tlii-  coiuH^tion,  and  traced 

•  Ex.  XXIM,  i(>;  XXXrV,  ;-•;    iKut.  XVI,  ,1;   I.tv.  XXIII.  10-17 
'  Kx.  R.  XXXI,  17,  with  rcfrrt'tn  e  to  V.x.  XIX,  i ,   juliilns  VI,  17-11. 
'  See  J.  !•",,  art.  CDnfirniation. 

«  Deut.  X\l,  i,{;  Lev,  XXIII,  J 4-4 J .  comp.  I  Kinjis  VIII,  65;  Kzck. 
XLV,  23 ;  R.  h.  -Sh.  I,  i. 


.V:;i 


m 


464 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


,  fi*- 


i^i 


the  name  to  the  tents  erected  by  the  people  in  their  wander- 
ings through  the  wilderness.'    It  seems  that  from  very  ancient 
times  popular  rites  were  performed  at  this  feast,  which  took  a 
specially  solemn  form  in  the  holding  of  a  procession  from  the 
pool  of  Shiloah  at  the  foot  of  the  Temple  mount  to  the  altar 
in  the  Temple,  to  olTc.  there  a  libation  of  water,  which  was  a 
sort  of  symbolic  prayer  for  rain  for  the  opening  year.     Ob- 
viously, it  is  this  feast  which  is  referred  to  in  the  last  chapter 
of  Zechariah,  while  this  outburst  of  popular  joy  found  a  deep 
response  among  the  pious  leaders  of  the  people  and  is  echoed 
in  the  liturgy  of   the  medieval  Synagogue.*    The  Halakic 
rules  concerning  the   tabernacle   and  the  four  plans  for  it 
tended  to  obscure  the  real  significance  of  the  festival ; '   yet 
in  the  synagogue  and  ;'  e  home  it  retained  its  original  char- 
acter as  a  "season  of  gladness."    The  joyous  gratitude  to 
God  for  His  protection  of  Israel  during  ine  forty  years  of 
wanderings  through  the  wilderness  expanded  into  thanksgiving 
for  His  guidance  throughout  the  forty  centuries  of  Israel's 
pilgrimage  through  all  lands  and  ages.    This  joy  cubninated 
on  the  last  day  in  the  Feast  of  Rejoicing  in  the  Law,  when 
the  annual  cycle  of  readings  from  the  Pentateuch  was  com- 
pleted in  the  Synagogue  ;imid  overflowing  pride  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Goil's  law  by  Israel.*    The  rabbis  gave  Sukkoth  a  uni- 
versal significance  by  taking  the  seventy  bullocks  prescribed 
for  the  seven  days  as  offerings  for  the  salvation  of  the  seventy 
nations  of  the  world,  while  theonebullockcfferedonthelastday 
suggested  the  uniqueness  of  Israel  as  God's  peculiar  people.* 

•  See  Ex.  XII,  37;  XIII,  20;  Num.  XXXIII,  5,  and  comp.  Mek.  Bo  14; 
Sifra  Emor  XVII. 

'Zech.  XIV,  16-19;  comp.  Is.  XII,  3;  Suk.  V,  1-4;  Tos.  Suk.  IV,  1-9; 
Piyul  to  the  Sukkoth  festival. 

»Suk.  I-IV;  Talmud  and  Codes. 

UbnYarrhi:  Afanhig,  H.  Suk.  s3H3o;  T.  O.  Ch.  DCLXIX;  J.  E.,  art, 
Simhath  Torah. 

B  Pesik.    93  b ;  Suk.  5,  b ;  Philo :  Dc  Victimis,  I,  2,  II,  238-239. 


imi'HT Ill  HI  Ml  I  mil  I  II  |i     ll»  lHHiyji  !  MIIMlIB I|i||l  IIIMiiliil 


THE  SYNAGOGUE  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS        465 

12.  The  highest  point  of  religious  devotion  in  the  syna- 
gogue is  reached  on  the  New  Year's  day  and  the  Day  of  Atone- 
ment preceding  the  Feast  of  Sukkoth.  These  are  first  men- 
tioned in  the  Priestly  Code  and  were  undoubtedly  instituted 
after  the  time  of  Ezra ; '  they  were  then  brought  into  closer 
connection  by  the  Pharisees  and  permeated  with  lofty  ideas 
which  .truck  the  deepest  chords  of  the  human  heart  and 
voiced  the  sublimest  truths  of  religion  for  all  time  to  come. 

The  New  Year's  Day  on  the  first  of  Tishri  appears  in  the 
Mosaic  Code  simply  as  the  memorial  "Day  of  the  Blowing  of 
the  Trumpet,"  because  of  the  increased  number  of  trumpet 
blasts  to  usher  in  the  seventh  or  Sabbatical  month  with  its 
great  pilgrim  feast.  Under  Babylonian  influence,  however, 
it  received  a  new  name  and  meaning.  The  Babylonian  New 
Year  was  looked  upon  as  a  heavenly  day  of  destiny  when  the 
fates  of  all  beings  on  earth  and  in  heaven  were  foretold  for 
the  whole  year  from  the  tables  of  destiny.  The  leaders  of 
Jewish  thought  also  adopted  the  first  day  of  the  holy  month 
of  Tishri  as  a  day  of  divine  judgment,  when  God  allots  to  each 
man  his  destiny  for  the  year  according  to  his  record  of  good 
and  evil  deeds  in  the  book  of  lifc.^  Accordingly,  the  stirring 
notes  of  the  Shofar  were  to  strike  the  hearts  of  the  people 
with  fear,  that  they  might  repent  of  their  sins  and  improve 
their  ways  during  the  new  year.  As  fixed  by  tradition,  the 
liturgy  contained  three  blasts  of  the  Shofar  to  proclaim 
three  great  ideas  of  Judaism : '  the  recognition  of  God  as 
King  of  the  world ;  as  Judge,  remembering  the  actions  and 
thoughts  of  men  and  nations  for  their  reward  and  punishment ; 
and  as  the  Ruler  of  history,  who  revealed  Himself  to  Israel 
in  the  trumpet-blasts  of  Sinai  and  will  gather  all  men  and 

>  Lev.  XXIII,  24-32  ;  comp.  Nch.  VIII,  1-18. 
'J.  E.,  art.  New  Year's  Day;   Life,  Book  of. 

'  R.  h.  Sh.  IV,  6-7 ;  Tos.  R.  h.  Sh.  IV,  4-<J  i  R-  h.  Sh.  27  a;  SinRer's  Prayerb., 
247-25  J,  and  .Abrahams  Ann.  CXCV,  inf.;  and  Union  Prayer  Book,  II,  70-75- 

2H 


^SMfei»MBiJ»'!*VS^P?55:f^ 


|4i"i  n 


>ii 


.    If"  il 


J- 


',1 


ill 


:  i  .•*-, 


;^i 


!t!..M 


•11 


'itii-lt 


2  wt 


466 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


nations  by  the  trumpet-blasts  of  the  Judgment  Day  at  the 

end  of  time. 

The  main  purpose  of  the  New  Year  was  to  render  it  a  day 
of  renewal  of  the  heart,  so  that  man  might  put  himself  in  har- 
mony with  the  great  Judge  on  high  and  receive  life  anew  from 
His  hand,  while  he  fills  his  spirit  with  new  and  better  resolves 
for  the  future.     Judaism  does  not  place  the  day  of  judgment 
after  death,  when  repentance  is  beyond  reach  and  the  sinner 
can  only  await  damnation,  as  is  done  by  Christianity  after 
the  apocalyptic  views  adopted  from  the  Parsees.    The  Jew- 
ish judgment  day  occurs  at  the  beginning  of  every  year,  a 
day  of  self-examination  and  improvement  of  men  before  God. 
On  this  day  —  in  the  orthodox  Synagogue  on  the  second  day 
of  the  New  Year  —  the  chapter  is  read  from  the  Torah  de- 
scribing Abraham's  great  act  ^f  faith  on  Mount  Moriah,  the 
heroic  pattern  of  Jewish   martyrdom,  and  Stirling  prayers, 
litanies,  and    songs   prepare  the  worshiper  for  the  "great 
day"  of  the  year,  the  Day  of  Atonement,  which  is  to  come 
on  the  tenth  day  of  Tishri,  the  last  of  the  ten  Days  of 
Repentance. 

13.   The  Day  of  Atonement  figures  in  the  Mosaic  Code  as 
the  day  when  the  high  priest  in  the  Temple  performed  the 
important  function  of  expiation  for  the  sanctuary,  the  priest- 
hood, and  the  people.     The  mass  of  the  people  were  to  observe 
the  day  from  evening  to  evening  as  a  Sabbath  and  a  fast  day 
to  obtain  pardon  for  their  sins  before  God.'     A  very  j)rimitive 
rite  which  survived  for  this  day  was  the  selection  of  two  goats, 
one  of  which  was  to  be  sent  to  Azazel,  the  demon  of  the  wil- 
derness, to  bear  away  the  sins  of  the  people  while  the  other 
was  to  be  offered  to  the  Lord  as  a  sacrifice.    We  learn  from 
the  Mishnaic  sources  that  the  sending  forth  of  the  scapegoat 
was  accompanied  by  strange  practices  betraying  intense  popu- 
lar interest,  and  its  arrival  at  the  bottom  of  the  wild  ravine, 

»  Lev.  XVI,  2-34;  comp.  Ezck.  XLV,  18-20. 


m 


'\;s?s^^!ffin^ri^sHi 


THE  SV'NAGOGUE  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS         467 

where  Azazel  was  supposed  to  (iwell.  was  announct-d  by  >iKnaIs 
from  station  to  station,  until  tiny  reached  the  Temple  mount, 
and  the  news  of  it  was  then  received  with  wild  bursts  of 
joy  by  the  people.  The  yourij^  men  and  maidens  assimbled 
on  the  heights  of  Jerusalem,  like  the  men  at  the  pilfjrima;,'e 
feast  at  Shiloh,  and  held,  as  it  were,  nuptial  dances.'  The  day 
was  one  of  communion  with  (iod  for  the  high-priest  alone ; 
he  confessed  his  sins  and  those  of  the  people  and  implored 
forgiveness,  and  it  was  actually  believed  that  he  beheld  the 
Majesty  of  God  on  that  day  when  he  entered  the  Holy  of 
Holies  with  the  incense  shrouding  his  face.- 

In  contrast  to  this  priestly  monopoly  of  service  with  its 
external  and  archaic  forms  of  expiation,  the  founders  of  the 
Synagogue  invested   the  Day  of  Atonement   with  a  higher 
meaning  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  prophets  of  old,  the 
doctrine  of  God's  mercy  and  paternal  love.     Atonement  could 
no  longer  be  obtained  by  the  priest  with  the  sacrificial  blood, 
the  incense,  or  the  scapegoat;    it  must  come  through  the 
repentance  of  the  sinner,  leading  him  back  from  the  path  of 
error  to  the  way  of  God.     As  the  high-priest  in  the  Temple, 
so  now  every  son  of  Israel  was  to  spend  the  day  in  the  house 
of  prayer,  confessing  his  sins  before  God  with  a  contrite  heart, 
awaiting  with  awe  the  realization  of  God's  promise  to  Moses : 
"I  have  pardoned  according  to  thy  word."'     Indeed,  a  for- 
ward step  in  the  history  of  religion  is  represented  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  verse  :  "  For  on  this  day  he  —  that  is,  the  high- 
priest  —  shall   make   atonement    for   you    to   cleanse   you," 
which  was  now  understood  to  refer  to  God  :   "He  shall  make 
atonement  for  you  through  this  day."  ^     Therefore  R.  Akiba 

•YomaVT;   Kalish's  rommentary  to  Lev.  XVI ;  Taan.  IV,  8;  comp.  Jutl. 
XXI,  21;  see  Morgenstcrn  in  Journal  Orient  J  Soc,  1917,  and  J.  Q.  R.  1917, 

p.  Q4- 

»  Voma  IV-VI ;  comp.  Lev.  R.  XXI,  1 1 ;   V  ,  1. 

'Num.  XIV,  20;  XV,  -'6. 

*  I.CV.  XVI,  30;  Sifm  -Vhare  VI;  Yoma  30  b;  Yer.  Yoma  V,  4^  c. 


^^fIWP^Wi^r^)^^^^MWW^W^^-^^^ 


■■\^y^'.te.-f£  ti 


468 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


'''ail 


t' 


t.i 


could  exclaim  proudly,  as  he  thought  of  the  PauHnian  doc- 
triiu-  of  vicarious  atonement:    " Hai)py  are  ye   Israelites! 
iHlore  whom    'o  you  cleanse  yourselves  from  sin,  and  who 
cleanses   you?    Your    Father   in   heaven!'"    No   mediator 
was  needed  between  man  and  his  heavenly  Father  from  the 
moment  that  each  individual  learned  to  approach  God  in  true 
humility  on  the  Day  of  Atonement,  imploring  His  pardon 
for  sin  and  pnmiisin^  to  amend  his  ways.    With  profound 
intuition  the  rabbis  attributed  (iod's  pardon  to  the  petition 
of  Moses,  saying  that  He  revealed  Himself  in  His  attribute 
of  .nercy  on  the  very  tenth  of  Tishri,  foreshadowing  for  all 
time  the  divine  forgiveness  of  sin  on  the  Day  of  Atonement.' 
As  the  Mishnah  expressly  states,  even  the  Day  of  Atone- 
ment cannot  bring  forgiveness  so  long  as  injustice  cleaves 
to  one's  hand  or  evil  speech  to  the  lips  and  no  attempt  is 
made  to  repair  the  injury  and  appease  one's  fellow-man. 
Where  justice  is  lacking,  divine  love  cannot  exert  its  savmg 
power.     God's  mercy  and  long-sutTering  cannot  remove  sin, 
unless  the  root  of  evil  is  removed  from  the  heart  and  every 
wrong  redressed  in  sincere  repentance.     The  spirit  of  God 
is  invoked  on  these  great  days  at  the  year's  commencement 
only  that  the  penitent  soul  may  thus  receive  strength  to 
improve   its  ways,  that   good  conduct  in   the    future  may 
atone  for  the  errors  of  the  past.     Surely  no  religion  in  the 
wor!(l  can  equal  the  sublime  teachings  of  the  New  Year's  day 
and  the  D.v  of   Atonement,  first  filling  the  heart  of  mortal 
man  with  aw   before  the  Judge  of  the  world  and  thin  cheering 
it  with  the  assurance  of  (iod's  paternal  love  being  ever  ready 
to  extend  mercy  to  His  repentant  children.    While  the  other 
festivals  of  the  year  are  specifically  Jewish  in  historic  associa- 

'  Voma  VIll,  Q.  _,    ,    p, 

»P  ,1.  R.  El.XLVI;  Taan.3ob;   B.  B.  .21  a;  S.  01am  R.  VI;  T   d.  LI. 
Zutta  IV;   Ex.  R.  LI,  4.   Jubilees  XXXIV,  18-19  connects  the  Day  of  Atone- 
ment with  the  repentance  ol  Joseph's  brethren. 
'  Voma,  1.  c. 


fi      VIS.1l««r«ilB'<W4V>^.<0^1  .LLhs. 


i^S'  —  V 


B«r;  !?.«,-*  ."^IBr .TBI 


THE  SN-NAGOGUE  AND  ITS  INSTITL'TIOXS         469 


tions  and  meaning,  these  two  days  on  the  threshold  of  each 
new  year  are  universally  human,  and  the  iliief  prayers  ior 
this  day  are  of  a  universal  char.n  ter,  appealing,'  to  every  human 
heart.  Indeed,  it  is  characteristic-  that  ijotli  the  ci>ncludinj? 
service  for  the  day.  the  Xcilali,  and  the  Scriptural  rea<lin« 
of  the  Minhah  Service,  selected  from  the  book  of  Jonah,  tell 
that  GckI's  all-forgiving  mercy  extends  to  the  non-Jewish 
world  as  well  as  to  the  Jew.' 

14.  Altogether,  the  Synagogue  gave  to  the  annual  cycle 
of  the  Jewish  life  a  beautiful  rhythm  in  its  alternation  of  joy 
and  sorrow,  lending  a  higher  solemnity  to  general  experience. 
All  the  festivals  mentioned  above  were  prececied  by  a  series 
of  Sabbaths  to  prepare  the  congregation  for  the  coming  of 
the  sad  or  the  joyful  season  with  its  historical  reminiscences. 
So  the  memorial  day  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the 
ninth  of  Ab,  had  three  weeks  previou>ly  to  herald  in  a  day 
commemorating  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  the  seventeenth  of 
Tammuz;  but  it  had  also  seven  Sabbath  days  to  follow. 
which  afforded  words  of  consolation  and  hope  of  a  more  glori- 
ous future  for  the  mourning  nation.-  Of  course,  the  brighter 
days  of  the  present  era  have  greatly  modified  the  lugubrious 
character  of  these  eventful  days  of  the  past,  even  in  those 
circles  where  the  hope  for  the  restoration  of  :'iU'  Jewish  nation 
and  Temple  is  still  expressed  in  prayer.  .At  the  same  time, 
the  commemoration  of  the  destruction  of  State  and  Temple, 
the  great  turning-point  in  the  history  of  the  Jew.  ought  to 
be  given  a  prominent  place  in  the  Reform  Synagogue  as 
well,  though  celebrated  in  the  s{)irit  of  progressive  Judaism. 

The  feast  of  Hanukkah  with  its  lii^hts  and  song,  jubilant 
with  the  Maccabean  victory  in  the  l)attle  for  Israel's  faith, 
still  resounds  in  the  Jewish  home  and  the  house  of  Ciod  with 

•  Comp.  above,  Chapter  XXXIX. 

' .'  'scphus  J.  \V.  \I,  4.  5 ;  Mi'i:.  Taan.  V ;  Taan.  IV,  4 ;  Taan.  1 1  a,  29  al). 
J.  E.,  art.  Ab,  Ninth  of;  see  also  Fes.  R.  XXVI-XXXHI;  Pesik.  nob -148  a. 


\l 


> 


470  JFAVISII  THEOLOGY 

the  prophetic  watchword  :  "Not  i.y  miRht.  nor  by  power,  but 
by  My  spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts."  ' 

The  mirthful  feast  of  I'urim.  with  its  half-serious,  half- 
jovial  use  of  the  scroll  of  Ksther  and  its  popular  rejoicing, 
assumed  in  the  course  .)f  time  a  more  earnest  character, 
because  the  plot  of  Haman  and  the  rescue  of  the  Jews 
became  typical  in  Jewish  history.  Therefore  the  story  of 
Amalek.  the  arch-foe  of  Israel,  is  read  in  the  Syna^oRue  on 
the  preceding  Sabbath  as  a  reminder  of  the  constant  battle 
which  Israel  must  wa^e  for  its  supreme  religious  task.' 

15.   Through  the  entire  history  of  Judaism  since  the  Exile, 
the  Synagogue  brought  its  religious  truth  home  to  the  people 
each  Sabbath  and  holy  day   through  the  reading  and  ex- 
pounding of  the  Torah  and  the  prophets.    These  words  of 
consolation  and  admonition  struck  a  deep  chord  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people,  so  that  learning  was  the  coveted  prize  of  all 
and  ignorance  of  the  law  became  a  mark  of  inferiority.     Beside 
these  stated  occasions,  all  times  of  joy  or  sadness  such  as 
weddings  and  funerals  were  given  some  attention  in  the  Syna- 
gogue, as  linking   the  individual   to  the  communal   life,  and 
linking  his  personal  joy  and  sorrow  with  the  past  sadness  and 
future  glory  of  Jerusalem,  as  if  they  but  mirrored  the  greater 
events  of  the  people.    Thus  the  whole  life  was  to  be  placed 
in  the  service  of  the  social  body,  and  could  not  be  torn  asunder 
or  divided  into  things  holy  and  things  profane.     Religion 
must  send  forth  its  rays  like  the  sun,  illumining  and  warmmg 
all  of  man's  deeds  and  thoughts. 

16.  The  weakness  of  the  Synagogue  was  its  Orientalism. 
Amid  all  the  changes  of  time  and  environment,  it  remained 
separated  from  the  surrounding  world  to  such  an  extent  that 
it  could  no  longer  exert  an  influence  to  win  outsiders  for  its 
great  truths.     Until  recently  the  Hebrew  language  was  re- 

>Zech  IV,  6;  J.  E.,  art.  Hanukka;   Maccabees. 

»  Meg.  IV,  5;  18  a,  .i  b,  J.  E.,  art.  Pufim;   Esther;  Slfrc  tr.  Oeut.  296. 


r-*:^ 


?.''^wrf*3Bf 


;  .^^.i-^y 


raW3@tT5W&'.T!'«"JKr-<'/' 


THE  SYNAGOGUE  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS         47 « 

taincd  for  the  entire  lilurfjy,  although  it  had  become  unin- 
telllKible  to  the  majority  of  the  Jews  in  western  lands,  and 
even  thi)U«h  the  rabl)is  had  dii  lured  in  Tahnutlie  times  tliat 
the  verse:    "Hear  O  Israel,  the  Lord  is  our  (iod,  the  Lord 
is  One"  indicates  that  the  worils  should  he  spoken  in  a  lan- 
guage  which  can  he  heard  and  understood  by  the  people' 
The  Torah  likewise  was,  and  in  the  ancient  Syna^'oKue  is  still 
read  exclusively  in  the  Hebrew  orij;inal,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  original  reading  under   K/.ra   was  accompanied  by 
a  translation  and  interpretation  in  the  Aramaic  vernacular. 
Thus  only  could  the  Te)rah  become  "the  heritage  of  the  whole 
congregation  of  Jacob,"  which   fact   ^ave  rise  to   both  the 
Aramaic  and  Clreek  translations  of    the  Bible  which  carried 
the  truths  of  Judaism  to  the  wider  ( irde  of  the  world.     These 
plain  facts  were  ignored  through  the  centuries  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  JewiNh  faith,  and  this  neglect,  in  turn,  engendered 
a  false  conception  of  Judaism,  making  it  seem  ever  more 
exclusive  and  narrow.     Instead  of  becoming  "our  wisdom 
and  understanding   before   all   the  nations."'^  km.wledge  of 
the  Torah  dwindled  to  a  i)<)ssession  of  the  few,  while  the 
ceremonial   laws,   observed   by    the   many,   were   performed 
without  any  understanding  of  their  origin  or  purpose.     But 
in  the  last  century  under  the  banner  of  Reform  Judaism  many 
of  these  points  were  altered.     The  vernacular  was  introduced 
into  the  Synagogue,  so  that  the  modern  Jew  might  pray  in  the 
same  tongue  in  which  he  feels  and  thinks,  thus  turnmg  the 
prayers  from  mechanical  recitations  into  true  offerings  of  the 
soul,  and  bringing  the  Scriptural  readings  nearer  to  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  congregation.     Like-wise  the  reinlroductum 
of  the  sermon  in  the  vernacular  as  part  of  the  divme  service 
for  Sabbath  and  holy  days  became  the  vehicle  to  awaken 
religious  sentiments  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  thereby 
to  revive  the  spirit  of  the  ancient  prophets  and  Haggadists. 
i  Ber.  It  a.         *  Deut.  IV,  6.         '  See  Zunz :  GoUesdUnstlkhe  Vortraege. 


i 

L 


;'«''*.>,^  i^L<x^K^r'w$Ki,*^.Tjist:;3r^mmx^  Vf.  at* 


472 


JFAMSII    rUF.OLOC.Y 


IJV;  J  i  ■  ^'  J," 


\      <i 


5; 

' .  i 

:t\ 

';' 

1               , 

)                ' 

,      * 

!■ 

'  1 . 

'(    :  ■ 

i|' 

P:-' 

■J- 


'.     :|'' 


if'' 


, 7    This  ( )ricntaH^m  is  ispocially  marked  in  the  attitude  oC 
the  ol.Ur  Syna,o,uc  to  wonun.     True  7*'"«h- ;;7;;\^^:';* 
h..numl  as  tin-  nn.tros>  ..(  tlu-  homo.     Slu-  kuu  U<l  the  Sa^ 
ball,  li«ht.  provi.k.l  (or  the  jcy  and  comfort  of  domestic  I  fc 
;;  >cnally  on  .hc  holy  .lays,  observed  strictly  the  >aws  o   d.ct 
and  nurity.  an.l  awakened  the  spirit  of  p.ety  m  her  chddren. 
S,iU  she  was  excK.ded  from  the  ref?ular  divine  servue  m  the 
Svna^ogue.     She  .lid  not  count  as  a  member  ..f  the  rehpoUH 
community,  which  consisted  exclusively  of  men.    She  had 
to  sit  in  the  gallery  behin.l  a  trellis  .lur.n«  the  -^v'^/^';*  "  "J 
not  even  join  the  men  in  saying  ^race  al  table.     A   ew  rare 
women  were  privileged  to  study  Hebrew,  such  as  the  .laughter 
of  Rashi.  but  as  a  rule  woman's  educat.o..  was  n^'K^^'^t"*,^^ 
if  "she  ha.l  n..  claim  ».n  any  other  wisdom  than  the  d.statl. 
More  and  more  Judaism  lost  sight  of  its  m,ble  types  of  wornen 
in  anti.iuitv;   it  forgot  the  Biblical  hen.mes  such  as  M.rum 
an.l  I  .bor^d^  Hannah  an<l  Hul.la.  and  Talmu.hc  ones  such 
as  Beruria  the  wife  of  kabbi  Meir.     Such  women  as  these 
might  have  repeated   the  words:    "Hath   the   L..rd   mdeed 
spoken   only   through   M..os?     Hath   He  not   aUo   spoken 
through  us?"'    Aside  from  the  sphere  of  religion,  m  which 
woman  always  manifests  a  splendid  wealth  of  sentiment   she 
was  held  in  subjection  by  Oriental  laws  in  b.)th  mantal  and 
social  relations,^  an.l  her  natural  vocation  as  religious  teacher  of 
the  children  in  the  h..me  failed  to  receive  full  recognition  also. 
The  first  attempt  to  liberate  the  Jewish  woman  from  the 
yoke  of  Orientalism  was  made  in  the  eleventh  century  by 
Rabbi  Gershon  ben  Jehudah  of  Mayence,  at  that  time  the 
leading  rabbi  of  C.ermany.     Under  the  influence  .>f  Occidental 
ideas  he  secure.l  equal  rights  for  men  and  women  in  carnage. 
But  only  in  our  own  time  were  full  rights  accorded  her  m  the 

.  Yoma  66  h ;  comp.  R.  F.lie^er•s  other  dictum  Sola  111.4^ 

'.Num.  XII,   2.  -  .-tv  Oc!;;-  ,    -'  

*  Graetz.  //.  J.  Ill,  ^4  f- ;  I-  Loew :  Ces.  i^ch.  Ill,  57- 


._  .jsm-:wf>r^m :J^m 


','* 


Tin:  SYNAGfK.lF,  AND   li>  INSlITl  TIONS         473 

SynaKoKUC,  owinj;  to  the  rifurm  movi  nuiit  in  (urman:-  .iiul 
Austria.  As  a  matter  of  fart,  tin-  .ui\lirm,itiot\  of  iliildrcn 
of  l>oth  scxrs,  which  wa  j;ra<lually  intr.ukucl  in  many  ton- 
st-rvative  tonjjrf^Mtions  aUo,  w.is  thi-  virtual  nioKnilion  <.f 
woman  a-  the  equal  of  man  in  Syna';o:j;uc  an<i  mIu...!.'  Fi- 
nally, ujwm  the  initiative  of  Isia(  M.  Wi-e.  then  Kal.l)i  in  Al- 
bany, N.  v.,  family  pews  were  intnxliued  in  the  Ameriian 
SynagoKue  and  woman  was  se.ited  lHM<le  In  r  hu^l.,ind,  s..n, 
father.  an<l  brother  as  their  e.iu.il.  With  her  ^;reater  emotional 
powers  she  is  able  t.t  lend  a  new  m>1.  inruty  and  dij^nity  to  the 
religious  ami  ediuational  elforts  c.f  the  Synaj^oj-ue,  wherever 
she  is  admitted  as  a  full  partieipanl  in  the  Mrviee. 

i8.    Anothershortromin^of  the  SynaK'o^ueandol  Rabbinical 
Judaism  in  general  was  its  formalism.     Too  mueh  stre-s  was 
laid  ui)on  the  perfunctory  "di^har^'e  of  tluty.'"  the  outward 
performance  of  the  letter  of  the  l.uv,  r.nd  not  etioUKh  upon 
the  sjnritual  basis  of  the  Jewish  re!i;4ion.     The  form  obscured 
the  spirit,  even  tliouph  it  never  finite  succeeded  in  throttling 
it.     This  formalism  of  the  ijjnorant,  but  observant  multitude 
was  censured  as  early  as  the  eleventh  century  by  liahya  ben 
Joseph  ibn  Pakudah  in  his  '-Duties  of  the  Heart."  a  philo- 
sophical  work  in  which  he  emphatically  ur^es  the  need  of  in- 
wardness for  the  Jewish  faith.'    Later  the  mystics  of  Germany 
ami  Palestine,  while  strong  supporters  of  the  law.  opposed 
the  one-sidedness  of  legalism  and  inlellectuali  m,  an<l  endeav- 
ored to  instill  elements  of  deeiH-r  devotion  into  the  Jewi>h 
soul  throuf^h  the  introduction  of  their  secret  \nr^ .  (\ibfhilali, 
or    "esoteric    tradition."^     Their    offering,    however,    was 
anything  but  beneficial  to  the  soul  of  Judaism.     A  mysticism 
which  attempts  to  fathom  the  unfathomable  depth  of  the 
divine  accords  but  ill  with  the  teaching  of  Judai>m.   which 
says:  "The  secret  things  belong  unto  the  Lord  our  God,  but 

'  See  LandshcrR  in  J.  E.,  art.  Conf.rmatmn ;   I,.  L<hw  :    I.rhnisalUr.  17. 
ic—  u:.-  T_.-.,. .;,>.,  'C'^rpp   Srhcchter:  Studies,  II,  14S  i  ,  202  1. 

*^"vt    III^    lilt  r.",.-i>  ».•'•»-  ^ ^-t- 


474 


jKWiNii  tmf()I.(h;y 


mr^ 


fit'  li 


the  things  that  arc  rt-viahil  hclonR  unt«)  u<*  and  to  our  chihircn 
f,)ri'Vir.  that  wf  may  «li>  all  the  words  of  thU  law."  '     The 
Cahhalah  was  hut  tlu-  natlion  to  the  i-xn-sMVf  rationalism 
of   the  SpanishAraWii    |Hriod.     As  the  ultimate  s«)urie  of 
religion  is  n..t  reason  hut  the  heart,  so  the  cultivation  of  the 
Intellect  at  tlie  expense  of  the  emotitms  ean  he  only  harmful 
to  the  faith.     The  legalism  and  casuistry  of  the  Talmud  and 
the  l\Mles  ajipealed  t.Hi  muih  t»)  the  intellect,  disregarding 
the  deeper  emotional  sources  of  religion  and  morality;    on 
the  other  hand,  the  mysticism  «)f  the  Cahhalists  overempha- 
sized the  emotional  element,  and  eliminated  much  of  the  ra- 
tional hasis  of  Judaism.      IVue  religion  grasps  the  whole  of 
man  and  sh»)ws  (WmI's  world  as  a  harmonious  whole,  reflecting 
in  hoth  mind  and  heart  the  greatness  and  majesty  of  (lod 
on  high.     In  order  to  open  the  flood-gates  of  the  soul  and  ren- 
der religion  again  th-  deepest  an<l  strongest  ft»rce  of  life,  the 
Synagogue  must  revitalize  its  time-honored  institutions  and 
ceremonies.     Thus  only  will  they  hecome  real  powers  of  the 
Jewish  spirit,  testimonies  to  the  living  Cio<l.  witnessing  to  the 
truth  of  the  Bil)lical  wtmls:   "  Fi)r  this  commandment  which 
I  command  thee  tliis  day,  it  is  not  too  hard  for  thee,  neither 
is  it  too  far  ofT.     It  is  not  in  heaven,  that  thou  shouldest  say, 
♦Who  shall  go  up  for  us  to  heaven  and  hring  it  unto  us,  and 
make  us  to  hear  it ,  that  we  may  do  it  ? '     Neither  is  it  heyond 
the  sea,  that  thou  shouldest  say.  'WIio  shall  go  over  the  sea 
for  us  and  hring  it  unto  u-,  and  make  us  to  hear  it.  that  we 
may  do  it?'     Hut  the  word  is  very  nigh  unto  thee,  in  thy 
mouth  and  in  thy  heart,  thai  thou  mayest  do  it."  ^ 

iq.  The  Synagogue  need  no  longer  restrict  itself  to  the 
ancient  ft)rms  of  worship  in  its  appeal  to  the  Jewish  soul. 
It  must  point  to  the  loftiest  ideals  for  the  future  of  all  human- 
ity, if  it  is  to  he  true  to  its  prophetic  spirit  of  yore.  "My 
house  shall  he  called  a  house  of  prayer  for  all  peoples,  '  ex- 
»  Deut.  XXIX,  26.  ■  i^»="'-  ^^^^>  15  «•»• 


hn/ 


«li."l#6.«.i-'-:.T«B''v^-r/':t«H-i'^i 


THE  SYNAGfM.l'K  AND  ITS  INSlTTUltON'S         47S 


claimni  the  seer  of  the  oxilf  '  "lltar  (>  hr;ul.  \)\v  Lord  our 
Gtxl,  the  Lord  I*  one"  mu'^t  ^K•  crhmd  in  all  lanch  ami  lan- 
guagcH,  by  all  (i«MlNvTkinK  mind-«  and  hcartH,  lo  nali/.o  the 
prophetic  vision:  "And  the  Lord  ^hill  In*  Kinj?  over  all  the 
earth;  in  that  day  the  Lord  shall  be  One,  ami  Hin  nam«- One."  ' 
Just  as  there  is  but  one  truth,  one  jusiite.  atid  one  love,  h«)w- 
cver  differently  the  various  raees  an«l  i  la^»es  of  men  may 
conicive  them  so  Israel  shall  u|)hold  (mmI.  the  only  One.  a* 
the  bond  of  unity  for  all  men  despite  their  diversity  of  ideas 
and  cultures,  and  His  truth  will  Ik-  the  beatdn  lijs'ht  for  all 
humanity.  As  the  Psalms,  prophets,  and  the  opening  ihap- 
ters  of  the  Pentateuch  s|H'ak  a  lanj^uane  appt-alin^  tt)  the 
common  sense  of  mankind,  so  the  divine  w«>rship  of  the  Syna- 
gogue must  afj  'r»  strike  the  deeper  chords  i)f  humanity,  in 
its  weal  and  \»  its  ho[H'  and  fear,  its  aspirations  and  ideals. 
Therefore  it  is  n..l  enough  that  the  institutio'  nd  ceremonies 
of  the  Synagogue  are  testimonies  to  the  grta.  f  Israel. 

They  must  also  become  eloquent  heralds  and  m.n.  ,rs  of  the 
glorious  future,  when  all  mankiu  )  will  have  learned  the  lessons 
of  the  Jewish  festivals,  the  ideals  of  liberty,  law,  ami  peace, 
the  thoughts  of  the  divine  judgment  and  the  divine  mercy. 
They  must  help  alst)  to  bring  about  the  time  when  the  ideal 
of  social  justice,  which  the  Mosaic  Code  holds  forth  for  the 
Israelitish  nation,  will  have  betome  the  moti^  -power  and 
incentive  to  the  reestablishment  of  human  soci  y  upon  new 
foundations. 

Jehudah  ha  Levi,  the  lofty  poet  of  medieval  Jewry,^  speaks 
of  Israel  as  the  "heart  of  humani»y,"  beiausc  it  has  supplied 
the  spiritual  and  moral  life-blood  of  the  civilized  world.  Israel 
provides  continually  the  rejuvenating  influence  of  society. 
Israel's  history  is  the  history  of  the  workl  in  miniature.  As 
the  Midrash  says,"  the  confession  of    (lod's  unity   imposes 


» Isa.  LVI,  7. 
'  Oizari,  I.  i- 


II,  12. 


V...h.  \IV.  0. 

'  Sifr'j  lo  iJ'.-ut.  VI.  '.. 


47^» 


JKWISH  TIIK()I.«M,V 


§•    ''4  \" 

If  N  J,  |« 

IV''  I  i!'  *.    "  ' 


uixm  u*  t»u-  ohllRfltion  tc»  lead  all  (i«Hl'»  thihircn  to  Iovt  Him 
with  hfart  ami  -m.uI  ami  mi«ht,  thun  working  towarti  ihc  time 
whtn  "the  earth  shall  Ik-  tilUnl  with  the  knowleilge  o(  the  nUtry 
of  the  Loril  a-*  the  water-*  cover  the  sea  "  '     All  the  stHJal, 
IK)liti.al,  ami  intellerlual  movemenlH  »,(  ttur  re^lleHH,  heaven- 
uttirming  age.  notwiih-.tamlinK   tem|H)rur>'   lapses  into  bar- 
barism and  hatred.  |H.int  unerringly  to  the  Imal  goal,  the 
unity  of  all  human  an.l  eo*mit  life  umler  the  supreme  leaiUr- 
ship  o(  (;.hI  on  high.     In  the  midst  of  all  these  movement* 
of  the  day  stamh  the  Jew.  (itnl's  witness  from  of  ol«l.  yet 
vi««»r..us  and  youthful  still,  surveying  the  experiences  of  the 
past  and  voicing  the  h.)|H-  of  the  future,  exclaiming  '-    *" 
words  of  his  traditional  prayers;  "Happy  are  we;  how  gen    .y 
h  our  portion!  how  pleasant  our  lot!    how  beautiful  our  in- 
heritance !  '■ '    ( Hir  faith  is  the  faith  of  the  coming  humanity  ; 
our  hope  of  Zion  is  the  kingdom  of  (icxl.  which  will  im  lude  all 
the  ideals  of  mankind. 


•  llab  II.  u- 


» Sinxcr't  Prayfrb.,  8. 


■i- 


'  ! 


IK  I! 


'.m 


^'i^^.^ammssssmmivm's^niar^mssiK^ifii?^^ 


CliAI-nK   MX 
Till;  F/riius  or  Jidaism  and  imk  Kist.unM  or  Gon 

I     The  *oul  of  the  Ji-wUh  nliuiop  i>,  \\^  vih'u  ^      Itn  CiotI 
h  the  Fountainhead  and  Meal  of  Morality      At  the  beKin- 
ninK  "f  the  summary  of  the  ethical  law*  in  the  Moviir  Ciule 
stamijt  the  verne :    "Yc  >hall  he  holy,  ftir   I   the  l..)r(l  >«>ur 
("ftxl  am  holy."'  '     This  provides  the  Jew  with   the  lufiiest 
possible   motive   f«»r   |K-rfertioti   and   at    the   same    time    the 
Kreatest   incentive   to  an  ever  ni^her  ».itneptii.n  of   lite  and 
life's  purp<»se      AicordiiiKly.  the  kinwdoin  of  (iinl  f(ir  who^e 
eoming  the  Jew  lon^--  from  the  l>e«innin<,'  until  the  end  of 
tho  year,'  din-s  not  rest  in  a  world   heyntui  the  «ra\e,  hut 
(in  conwrnante  with  the  ideal  of  Israel's  s.^es  an<l  prnphets) 
in  a  complete  roral  order  on  earth,  the  rei«n  <>f  truth,  right- 
eousness and    holiness  umonj?  all    men  and  nations      Jewish 
ethics,  then,  derives  its  sanction  from  tiod,  the  Author  and 
Master  of  life,  and  sees  Its  purpose  in  the  hallowing  of  all 
life,  imllvidual  and  social.     Its  nioUve  is  the  spl.ndid  con- 
cepticm  that  man.  with  his  finite  ends,  is  linked  to  the  iiifmite 
Clod  with  His  infinite  ends  ;  or,  as  the  rahhis  express  it.  "  Man 
is  a  co-worker  with  God  in  the  work  of  creation."  ^ 

2.  B»)th  the  term  ethics  (from  the  Greek  ethos)  and  moral- 
ity (from  the  Latin  mores)  are  <*  -rived  from  custom  or  habit. 
In  distinction  to  this,  the  Ilel)  w  Scripture  points  to  Gixl's 
will  as  perceived  in  the  lunnan  conscience  a^  the  source 
of  all  morality.     Those  ethical  systems  wliich  dispense  with 

'  Lev,  XIX,  2;  romp,  iin  thi  wholi-  E.  G.  HirM  li  in  J.  F...  .irt.  Kthics. 
»  See  Alcnu  in  Singer's  Prcycrb.,  67  f. ;  Union  Prayerbouk,  I,  48,  104  f. 
•Shab.  nob. 

477 


i 

L 


'  im  yi ik^-W^'IT^f^ -.*S'-.?^.7^^ 


^^'Hry^afrnta^imo^M^mm 


478 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


( > 


I  ' 


;  \ 


ii\V  \i 


religion  fail  to  take  due  cognizance  of  the  voice  of  duty  which 
says  to  each  man:  "Thou  shall"  or  "Thou  shalt  not!" 
Duty  distinguishes  man  from  all  other  creatures.  However 
low  man  may  be  in  the  scale  of  freedom,  hj  is  moved  to 
action  by  an  impulse  from  within,  not  by  a  compulsion  from 
without.  Of  course,  morality  must  travel  a  long  road  from 
the  primitive  code,  which  dues  not  extend  beyond  the  near 
kinsmen,  to  the  ideal  of  civilized  man  which  encompasses 
the  world.  Still  man's  steps  are  always  directed  by  some  rule 
of  duty.  The  voice  of  conscience,  heard  clearly  or  dimly, 
is  not.  as  is  so  often  asserted,  the  product,  but  the  original 
guiding  factor  of  human  society.  The  divine  inner  power  of 
morality  has  made  man,  not  man  morality.  Morality  and 
religion,  inseparably  united  in  the  Decalogue  of  Sinai,  will 
attain  their  perfection  together  in  the  kingdom  of  God  upon 
the  Zion  heights  of  humanity. 

^  Ethical  elements,  greater  or  smaller,  enter  into  all 
religions  and  codes  of  law  of  the  various  nations.  Ancient 
Egypt,  Persia  and  India  even  connected  ethical  principle 
and  the  future  of  the  soul  so  closely,  that  certain  ethical  laws 
were  to  determine  one's  fate  in  heaven  or  hell.  This  led  to 
the  idea  that  this  life  is  but  the  preparatory  stage  to  the  great 
hereafter.  But  antiquity  also  witnessed  more  or  less  success- 
ful attempts  to  emancipate  ethics  from  religion.  When  the 
old  beliefs  no  longer  satisfied  the  thinking  mind  and  no  longer 
kept  men  from  corruption,  various  philosophers  attempted 
to  provide  general  principles  of  morality  as  substitutes  for 
the  departed  deities.  Confucius  built  up  in  China  a  system 
of  common-sense  ethics  based  upon  the  communal  life,  but 
without  any  religious  ideals ;  this  satisfied  the  commonplace 
attitude  of  that  country,  but  could  not  pass  beyond  the  con- 
fines of  the  far  East.  A  semi-religious  ascetic  system  was 
offered  at  about  the  same  time  by  Gautama  Buddha  of 
India,  a  prince  garbed  as  a  mendicant  friar,  who  preached 


THE   ETHICS  OF  JUDAISM 


479 


the  gospel  of  love  and  charity  fi)r  all  fellow  creatures.     His 
leading  maxims  were  blind  resignatii)n  and  self-effacement  in 
the  presence  of  the  ills,  sutTerinK  ami  death  whit  h  rule  the 
entire  domain  of  life.     All  existence  was  evil  to  him,  with 
its  pleasure,  passion  and  desire,  its  tliouj,'ht  and  feeling;   his 
aim  was  a  state  of  apathy  and  listlessness,  Xinan,!;  while 
sympathy  and  compassion  for  fellow  treatures  were  to  offer 
some  relief    to  a  life  of   delusion  and  despair.     The  Hindu 
conception  of  the  unbearable  woe  of  the  world  corresponded 
more  or  less  with  the  hot  climate,  which  renders  the  pet)i)le 
indolent  and  apathetic.     In  striking  contrast  to  this  was  the 
vigorous  manhood  of  the  ethical  systems  developed  on  the 
healthy  soil  of  Greece,  under  the  azure  cant>py  of  a  sky  that 
fills  the  soul  with  beauty  and  joy.     Life  should  be  valued  for 
the  happiness  it  oilers  to  the  individual  or  to  society.     The 
good  should  be  loved  for  its  beauty,  the  just  admired  for  its 
nobility.     Greek  ethics  was  thus  both  aristocratic  and  utili- 
tarian ;  it  took  no  heed  of  the  toiling  slave,  the  suffering  poor, 
or  the  unprotected  stranger.      Both  the  Buddhist  and  the 
Hellenic  systems  lacked  the  energizing-  force  and  motive  of 
the  highest  purpose  of  life,  because  both  have  left  out  of  their 
purview  the  great  Ruler  who  summons  man  to  his  duty,  say- 
ing: "I  am  the  Lord  thy  God;  thou  shalt  and  thou  shalt 
not!" 

4.  Between  the  two  extremes,  the  Hellenic  self-expansion 
and  the  Buddhist  self-extinction,  Jewish  ethics  lal.ors  for 
self-elevation  under  the  uplifting  power  of  a  holy  God.  The 
term  which  Scripture  uses  for  moral  conduct  is,  very  signifi- 
cantly, "to  walk  in  the  ways  of  God."  The  rabbis  explain 
this  as  follows:  "As  God  is  merciful  and  gracious,  so  be  thou 
merciful  and  gracious.  As  God  is  called  righteous,  so  be 
thou  righteous.  As  God  is  holy,  so  do  thou  strive  to  be 
holy."*     Another  of   their   maxims   i- :    "How  can   mortal 

*  Deut.  XI,  22;   Sifrc  Dcut.  49. 


'* 


I 


1>I 


48o 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


man  walk  after  God,  who  is  an  all-consuming  fire?  What 
Scripture  means  is  that  man  should  emulate  God.  As  He 
clothes  the  naked,  nurses  the  sick,  comforts  the  sorrowing, 
and  buries  the  dead,  so  should  man."  '  In  other  words, 
human  life  must  take  its  pattern  from  the  divine  goodness 

and  holiness. 

5.   Obviously.  Jewish  ethics  had  to  go  through  the  same 
long  process  of  development  as  the  Jewish   religion  itself. 
A  very  high  stage  is  represented  by  '  iiat  disinterested  good- 
ness taught  by  Antigonus  of  Soko  in  .he  second  pre-Christian 
century  and  by  ben  Azzai  in  the  second  cent.iry  of  the  present 
era,  which  no  longer  anticipates  reward  or  punishment,  but 
doe's  good  for  its  own  sake  and  shuns  evil  because  it  is  evil.' 
As  long  as  the  law  tolerated  slavery,  polygamy,  and  blood 
vengeance,   and   man's  personality  was  not   recognized   on 
principle  as  being  made  in  the  image  of  God,  the  practical 
morality  of  the  Hebrews  could  not  rise  above  that  of  other 
nations,  except  in  so  far  as  the  shepherd's  compassion  for 
the   beast  occasioned    sympathy    also  for   the  fellow-man. 
After  all,   Jewish   ethics   became    the   ethics   of   humanity 
because  of  the  God-conception  of  the  prophets,  —  the  right- 
eous, merciful,  and  holy  God,  the  God  "who  executeth  the 
judgment  of  the  fatherless  and  the  widow,  and  loveth  the 
stranger  in  giving  him  food  and  raiment."  ^    The  conception 
of  Jewish  ethics  as  human  ethics  is  voiced  in  the  familiar 
verse:    "It  hath  been  told  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good  and 
what  the  Lord  doth  require  of  thee :   only  to  do  justly  and 
to  love  mercy  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God."  *    The 
all-ruling  and  all-see-'ng  God  of  the  Psalmist  made  men  feel 
that  only  such  a  one  can  stand  in  His  holy  place  "who  hath 

'  Deut.  XIII,  5;  Soid  14  a;  sec  Schcchter:  Aspects,  200-203. 

2  Ahoth.  I,  3  ;  IV,  2 ;  E.  G.  Hirsch  in  J.  E.,  art  Ethics.    See  Toy :  Judaism 

and  Chrhiianil;,  p.  260. 

,,»-,*  V   ...  «Micah  VT,  8. 


THE   ETHICS  OF  JUDAISM 


481 


clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart,  who  hath  not  lifted  up  his  soul 
unto  falsehood,  nor  sworn  deieitfuliy."  '  After  law-giver, 
prophet,  and  p/ialmist  came  the  wise,  who  gave  ethics  a  more 
practical  and  popular  character  in  the  wisdom  literature, 
and  then  came  the  Ilasidim  or  Kssenes,  who,  while  seeking 
the  highest  piety  or  saintliness  as  life's  aim.  deepened  and 
spiritualized  their  ethical  ideals.  Some  of  these  considered 
the  essential  principles  of  morality  to  he  love  of  Ood  and  of 
the  fellow-man ;  -  while  rabbinical  ethics  in  general  laid  great 
stress  on  motive  as  determining  the  value  of  the  deed.  The 
words,  "Thou  shalt  fear  the  Lord  thy  God,"  so  often  repeated 
in  the  law,  are  taken  to  mean  :  I*'ear  Him  who  looks  into  the 
heart,  judging  motives  and  intentions.^ 

6.  As  the  Mosaic  Code  presented  the  ceremonial  and  moral 
laws  toge'  r  as  divine,  so  the  rabbinical  schools  treated 
them  all  as  divine  commandments  without  any  distinction. 
Hence  the  Mishnah  and  the  Talmud  fail  to  give  ethics  the 
prominent  place  it  occupies  in  the  prophetic  and  wisdom 
literature  of  the  Bible  and  did  not  even  make  an  attempt  to 
formulate  a  system  of  ethics.  The  ethical  rules  in  the  "Say- 
ings of  the  Fathers"  and  similar  later  collections  make  no 
P'etentlons  to  being  general  or  systematic.  The  ethical 
cachings  became  conspicuous  only  through  contact  with  the 
Hellenic  worlu  in  the  propaganda  literature,  with  its  aim 
to  win  the  Gentile  world  to  Judaism.  Thus  at  an  early 
period  handbooks  on  ethics  were  written  and  circulated 
in  the  Greek  language,  some  of  which  were  afterward  appro- 
priated by  the  Christian  Church.  This  entire  movement  is 
summed  up  in  the  well-knowi  answer  of  Hillel  to  the  heathen 
who  desired  to  join  the  Jewish  faith:    "What  is  hateful  to 


>  Ps.  xxrv,  3-4. 

^See  J.  E.,  art.  Essenes,  Hasidim  and  To>t.  Twelve  Patriarchs:  Iss.  V,  2; 
VTI.  6 ;  Dan.  V,  3. 

»  Lev.  XIX,  14,  32  ;  Sifra  ad  loc.  B.  M.  5S  b. 

.21 


li'i': 


li   h 


r'i 


^gj  JEWISH  THEOLOGY 

thcc.  do  thou  not  unto  thy  fellow  man;  thLi  is  the  law,  and 
all  the  rest  is  merely  commentary."  ' 

On  the  whole,  rabbinical  Judai-^m  elaborated  no   ethical 
system  before  the  Middle  A^es.     Then,  under  Mohammedan 
influence    the  Aristotelian  and  Neo-Flatonic  philosophies  .n 
voKue  Rave  rise  to  certain  ethical  works  more  or  less  in  ac- 
cord with  their  philosophic  or  mystic  prototypes.     I"  addi- 
tion, ethical  treatises  were  often  written  in  the  form  of  wills 
and  of  popular  admonitions,  which  were  sometimes  broad 
an<l  human,  at  other  times  stern  and  ascetic.     One  thought, 
however,  prevailed  "  'ough  the  ages:   as  life  emanates  from 
the  God  of  holiness,  .  o  it  must  ever  serve  His  holy  purposes 
and  benefit  all  His  earthly  children.     "AH  the  laws  given 
by  God  to  Israel  have  only  the  purification  and  ennobhng  of 
the  life  of  men  for  their  object,"  say  the  rabbis.* 

7    Perhaps  the  best  summary  of  Jewish  ethics  was  pre- 
sent ^d  by  Hillel  in  the  famous  three  words:    "If  I  am  not 
for  myself,  who  will  be  for  me?     But  if  I  am  for  myself  alone, 
what  am  1?    And  if  not  now.  when  then?  "^    We  find  here 
three  spheres  of  duty:   toward  one's  self,  toward  others,  and 
toward  the  life  before  us.     In  contrast  to  purely  altruistic 
or  socialistic  ethics.  Jewish  morality  accentuated  the  value 
of  the  individual  even  apart  from  the  social  organism.    Man 
is  a  child  of  God.  a  self-conscious  personality,  who  is  to  un- 
fold and  improve  the  powers  implanted  by  his  divine  Maker, 
in  both  body  and  soul,  laboring  in  this  way  toward  the  pur- 
pose for  which  he  was  created.     Man  was  created  single, 
says  one  of  tl  2  sages  in  the  Mishnah,^  that  he  might  know 
that  he  forms  a  world  for  himself,  and  the  whole  creation 
must  aid  him  in  unfolding  the  divine  image  within  himself. 
Accordingly,    self-preservation,    self-improvement    and    self- 

'  Shab.  3T  a;  comp.  J.  E.,  art.  Di.b.  he  and  Klein.  1.  c   _ 

«Tanh.  Shemini,  ed.  Buber,  §  i.  ;  comp.Lauterbach,fi/.ff5o///<»/a*aA,p.  12. 

»Aboth.I,i4.  ^Sauh.IV.s. 


THE  ETHICS  OF  JUDAISM 


483 


perfection  are  duties  of  every  man.    This  implies  first  the 
care  for  the  human  body  as  the  tcmp.c  which  enshrines  the 
divine  spirit.     In  the  '•yes  of  Judaism,  to  nt'skct  or  enfeeble 
the  body,  the  instrument  of  the  soul,  is  altogether  sinful. 
As  the  Sabbath  law  demands  physical  rest  and  recreation 
after  the  week's  work,  so  the  Jewish  religion  in  general  trains 
men  to  enjoy  the  gifts  of  God ;   and  the  rabbis  declare  that 
their  rejection  (except  for  disciplinary  reason^)  is  ingratitude 
for  which  man  must  give  an  account  at  the  last  Judgment 
Day.'    The  Pharisean  teacher  who  opposed  the  Essenic  cus- 
tom of  fasting  and  declared  it  sinful,  unless  it  be  for  special 
purposes,   would   have  deprecated  even   more  strongly   the 
ascetic  Christian  or  Hindoo  saint  who  castigated  his  body 
as  the  seat  oi  sin.^    As  Hillel  remarked:    ''See  what  care  is 
bestowed  up.  n  the  statue  of  the  emperor  to  keep  it  clean  and 
bright;  ought  we  not,  likewise,  keep  God's  image,  our  body, 
clean  and  free  from  every  blemish?"'^ 

In  regard  to  our  moral  and  spiritual  selves  the  rabbinical 
maxim  is :  "Beautify  thyself  first,  and  then  beautify  others."  * 
Only  as  we  first  ennoble  ourselves  can  we  then  contribute  to 
the  elevation  of  the  world  about  us.  Our  industry  promotes 
the  welfare  of  the  community  as  well  as  of  ourselves;  our 
idleness  harms  others  as  well  as  ourselves.*  Upon  self-respect 
rest  our  honor  and  our  character.  Virtue  also  is  the  result 
of  self-control  and  self -conquest."  "  There  shall  be  no  strange 
God  in  thee."  This  Psalm  verse  is  taken  by  the  rabbis  to 
mean  that  no  anger  and  passion  nor  any  evil  desire  or 
overbearing  pride  shall  obtain  their  mastery  over  thee.^ 
Man  asserts  himself  in  braving  temptation  and  trial,  in  over- 
coming sin  and  grief.  Greater  still  is  the  hero  who,  in  com- 
»  Ver.  Kid.  IV,  66  d.  '  Taan.  22  b,   Xed.  10  a. 

»  Lev.  P.  XXXIV,  3,  ref.  to  Prov.  XI,  17.  *  ^^"'i-  '**  ^>  i9  a. 

»  Rpth.  V,  5- 

•  Prov.  XVI,  32;  Shab.  105  b;  Ned.  22  b;  Sota  4  b;  Ber.  43  b. 
'  Ps.  LXXXI,  10. 


484 


JEWISH  THEOLOGY 


5fe    f 


m 


Itw  d  •■   '§,   I 


plcte  self-mastery,  can  sacrifice  himself  in  a  great  cause. 
Martyrdom  for  the  sake  of  God.  which  the  rabbis  call  sancti- 
fication  of  the  name  of  God,'  is  really  the  assertion  of  the 
divine  life  in  the  midst  of  death.  But  desertion  of  life  from 
selfish  motives  through  suiiidc  is  all  the  more  despicable. 
He  who  sells  his  human  birthright  to  escape  pain  or  disgrace, 
though  greatly  to  be  pitied,  has  forfeited  his  claim  and  his 
share  in  the  world  to  come.'* 

Not  only  our  life  is  to  be  maintained  amid  all  trials  as  a 
sacred  trust,  but  also  our  rights,  our  freedom,  and  our  indi- 
viduality, for  we  must  not  allow  our  p'.rsonality  to  become 
the  slave  or  tool  of  others.  Job.  who  battled  for  his  own  con- 
victions against  the  false  assumption  of  his  friends,  was  at 
last  praised  and  rewarded  by  God.'  The  Biblical  verse: 
"  For  they  are  My  servants  whom  I  brought  forth  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  they  shall  not  be  sold  as  slaves,"  is  explained 
by  the  rabbis:  "My  servants,  but  not  servp.nts  to  servants," 
and  is  thus  applicable  to  spiritual  slavery  as  well." 

8.  Therefore  the  Jewish  conception  of  duty  to  our  fellow- 
men  is  by  no  means  comprised  in  love  or  benevolence.  Long 
before  Hillel,  other  Jewish  sages  gave  the  so-called  Golden 
Rule:  "Love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  a  negative  form: 
"What  is  hateful  to  thee  do  not  do  unto  thy  fellow  men."' 
Taken  in  the  positive  form,  the  command  cannot  be  literally 
carried  out.  We  cannot  love  the  stranger  as  we  love  our- 
selves or  our  kin ;  still  less  can  we  love  our  enemy,  as  is  de- 
manded by  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  According  to  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures'  we  can  and  should  treat  our  enemy 

» See  above,  chapter  I.,  par.  6.  ^       tv-  v    t 

«  Semakot  II ;  R.  Kleazar  in  B.  K.  91  b  with  reference  to  Gen.  IX,  s-     l-rof. 

Lauterbach  referred  me  to  Shebd  Mussar,  XX,  obviously  a  quotation  from 

some  lost  Midrash." 

»  Job  XLII.  7.  *  Lev.  XXV.  42,  55  ;  Tos.  B.  K.  V II,  s  ;   Kid.  22  d 

»TarK.  to  Lev.  XIX,  18;  Tobit  IV,  15;   I'hilo  II,  236. 
»Ex.  :OCIII,  4-5;  P^"-'-  XXIV,  17;  XXV.  21. 


■'I  ; 


THE  ETHICS  OF  JUDAISM 


485 


»» fi 


magnanimously  and  forgive  him,  hut  wc  cannot  truly  love 
him,  unless  he  turns  from  an  enemy  to  a  friend.    The  real 
meaning  given  by  thi   rabbis  to  the  command,  "Love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself"  is:   "Put  thyself  in  his  place  and  act 
accordingly.     As  thou  dost  not  desire  to  be  robbed  of  thy 
property  or  gotxl  name  or  to  be  injured  t)r  insulted,  so  do  not 
these  things  unto  thy  fellow  man."'    They  then  take  the 
closing  words.  "I  am  the  Lortl  thy  (iod."  as  an  oath  by  God : 
"I  am  the  Lord,  the  Creator  of  thy  fellow  man  as  well  as  of 
thee;    therefore,  if  thou  showest  love  to  him.  I  shal".  surely 
reward  thee,  and  if  not.  I  am  the  Judge  ready  to  punish 
thee."'     Love  of  all  fellow-men  is.  in  fact,  taught  by  both 
Hillel '  and  Philo.*    Love  and  helpful  s\-mpathy  are  implied 
also  by  the  verse  from  Deuteronomy  :  "He  (the  Lord)  loveth 
the  stranger  in  giving  him  bread  and  raiment.     Love  ye 
therefore  the  stranger."  *    All  members  of  the  human  house- 
hold are  dependent  on  each  other  for  kindness  and  good  will, 
whether  we  are  rich  or  poor,  high  or  lowly,  In  life  or  in  death ; 
so  do  we  owe  love  and  kindness  to  all  men  alike. 

9.  However,  love  as  a  principle  of  acti«m  is  not  sufficiently 
firm  to  fashion  human  conduit  or  rule  society.  It  is  too 
much  swayed  by  impulse  and  emotion  and  is  often  too  par- 
tial. Love  without  justice  leads  to  abuse  and  wrong,  as 
we  see  in  the  history  of  the  Church,  whiih  began  with  the 
principle  of  love,  but  often  failed  to  heed  the  admonitions  of 
justice.  Therefore  justice  is  the  all-inclusive  principle  of  hu- 
man conduct  in  the  eyes  of  Judaism.  Justice  is  impartial  by 
its  very  nature.  It  must  right  every  wrong  and  vindicate  the 
cause  of  the  oppressed.  "  When  Th\-  judgments  are  in  the 
earth,  the  inhabitants  of  the  w(.  Id  will  learn  righteousness," 
said  the  prophet,"  describing  the  just  man  as  he  "that  walk- 


»  Ab.  d.  R.  N.,  ed.  Schechler.  53.  60, 

•  Aboth.  I,  12. 

*  Pcut,  X,  I.S-I.9 


'  Kodem,  64. 
<  Philo  11,  284  f. 
« Isa.  XXVI,  g. 


1 


486 


JEWISH  THF.OLOC.Y 


f\0 


:r 


i    I'. 


cth  righteously  and  speakcth  upriRhtly.  that  dcsplseth  the 
gain  of  oppressions,  that  >haketh  his  hands  from  holding  of 
bribes,  that  stoppeth  his  ear  from  hearing  of  bliKKi,  and 
shutteth  his  eyes  from  UM)king  on  evil."  '  Justice  is  the  requi- 
site not  only  in  action,  but  also  in  disiH)sition,'  implying 
honesty  in  intention  as  in  deed,  uprightness  in  speech  and 
mien,  perfect  rectitude,  neither  taking  advantage  of  igno- 
rance nor  abusing  (ontidence/^  It  is  sinful  to  acquire  wealth 
by  betting  or  gambling,*  or  by  cornering  fcMxi-supplies  to 
raise  the  market  price.'  The  rabbis  derive  from  Scripture 
the  thought  that,  just  as  "your  balances  and  weights,  your 
ephah  and  hin"  must  be  just,  so  should  your  yea  and  nay.' 
The  verse,  "Justice,  justice  shalt  thou  follow,"^  is  explained 
thus  in  a  Midrash  which  is  quoted  by  Bahya  ben  Asher  of 
the  thirteenth  century:  "Justice,  whether  to  your  profit  or 
loss,  whether  in  word  or  in  action,  whether  to  Jew  or  non- 
Jew."  *  This  category  of  justice  covers  also  regard  for  the 
honor  of  tmr  fellow-men,  lest  we  harm  it  by  the  tongue  of  the 
back-biter,*  by  the  ear  that  listens  to  calumny,'"  or  by  sus- 
picion cast  ui>on  the  innocent."  "God  in  His  law  takes 
especial  care  of  the  honor  of  our  fellow-men,"  say  the  rabbis, 
and  "  he  who  publicly  puts  his  fellow  man  to  shame  forfeits 
his  share  in  the  world  to  come."  " 

lo.  But  the  Jewish  conception  of  justice  is  broader  than 
mere  abstention  from  hurting  our  fellow-men.  Justice  is  a 
positive  conception.  Righteousness  (Zedakah)  includes  also 
charity  and  philanthro{)y.  It  asserts  the  claim  of  the  poor 
upon  the  rich,  of  *  le  helpless  upon  him  who  possesses  the 

'  Isa.  XXXIII,  IS-  *Sifra  Behar  IV;   B.  M.  58  b. 

'  Tos.  B.  K.  VII,  8;  B.  M.  Ill,  27;  B.  B.  88  a-qo  b;   Makk.  24  a. 

«  Sanh.  24  b.  '  H.  B.  qo  b.                  •  Lev.  XIX,  36 ;   B.  M.  49  a. 

'  Deut.  XVI,  20.  '  Kad  ha  Krmah,  s.  v.  Gervlah.                »  Ps.  XV,  J. 

'"  Pes.  118  a.  "  Shdb.  q7  a;   Voma  rg  b. 
"Mek.  Mishpatim  82;    B.  K.  79  b;   B.  M.  58  b-59  a;   Lauterbach  I.  c. 
20-21. 


THK   ETHICS  OF  JUDAISM 


487 


means  to  help.     '  He  who  prevents  the  |KM>r  frc»m  reaping 
the  corners  o(  the  held  or  the  «kaniiiKs  of  the  harvest.  «)r  in 
any  way  withhoUls  thu.t  which  han  been  a^si^jned  them  Ijy 
the  hiw  of  Moses,  is  a  robher,"  says  ihr  Mi-hnah,  "for  it  is 
writtin  :    '  Remove  not  the  ol«l  lamhuark.  and  entrr  not  int«» 
the    tield    of    the    fatherless.""     Jewish    ethit>    ht.lds    that 
charity  is  not  a  gift  of  c(mdescending  love,  but  a  duty.     It 
is  incumbent  uj^on  the  fortunate  to  restur  the  unfortunate, 
since  all  that  we  possess  is  «mly  lent  to  us  by  (iod,  tlir  Owner 
of  the  world,  with  the  charge  that  we  provide  f(»r  tlu   tuidy 
who  are  under  His  special  protection.     Tho>.e  who  nluse  to 
give  the  {xwr  their  share  abuse  the  divine  trust.     "If  thou 
lendest  money  to  My  iK-ople,  to  the  poor  with  thee."  ^  says 
Scripture,  and  the  rabbis  comment  on  thi;,  to  the  tlTect  that 
"the  poor  are  called  CiiMl's  people;   do  not  forget  that  the 
turn  of  fortune  which  made  you  rich  and  them  poor  may 
turn,  and  that  you  may  thvn  be  in  need."  '    Sor  is  it  sulhcient 
merely  to  give  to  him  who  is  poor ;   we  are  bidden  to  uphold 
him  when  his  powers  fail.* 

This  is  the  very  principle  of  ethics  of  the  Mosaic  law,  the 
principle  for  which  the  great  prophets  fought  with  all  the 
vigor  and  vehemence  of  the  divine  spirit  —  social  justice. 
The  cry :  "Woe  unto  them  that  join  house  to  house,  that  lay 
field  to  field,  till  there  be  no  room,"  •'  the  condemnation  of 
those  "that  swallow  the  needy  and  dc-troy  the  poor  of  the 
lai.  ".,"•  the  curse  hurled  at  him  who  withholdeth  corn,^ 
laid  the  foundations  of  a  higher  justice,  which  is  not  satis- 
fied with  mitigating  the  misery  of  the  unfortunate  by  acts  of 
charity,  but  insists  on  a  readjustment  of  the  social  conditions 
which  create  poverty.  This  spirit  created  the  poor  laws  of 
the  Mosaic  Code,   which  were  partially  adopted   by  both 


"Peah  V  6;  Prov.  XXIII.  10. 
'  Tanh.  Mishpatim,  ed.  Buber,  8. 
»l5a.  V,3.  '  Amos  VIII,  1 


»  Kx.  XXIII.  24. 
*  Lev.  XXV,  35  ;  Sifra  ad  loc. 
'  Prov.  XI,  26. 


I 


K 


Vv :   i 


'ijl 


488  JEWISH  THEOLOGY 

Christians    and    Mohammedan*.    It    dictated    the    Mosaic 
institutions  of  the  seventh  year  of  release  and  the  Jubilee 
year  for  the  restoration  of  fields  and  houses,  t.)  prevent  the 
tyranny  .)f  wealth  from  becoming  a  permanent  source  of 
oppression.     While  thm-  were  scarcely  ever  put  into  prac- 
tice, they  remained  as  u  pr.itest  ami  an  apix-al.     Their  aim 
and  iKTmanent  inrtuence  ten<led  towar.l  relati.ms  between 
the  upiK-r  aiul  lower  classc-s.  which  would  insure  the  latter 
some    decree   of    imle|H>ndence    and    diKnity.     In    fact,    the 
foundali..nH  laid  by  the  Hebrew  Scripture  underhc  all  our 
great  modern  efforts  to  turn  the  forces  of  charity  so  as  to  check 
the   sources  of  evil  in  our  social  organism.     Modern  phi- 
lanthropy, taking  its  clue  from  the  old  Hebrew  ideal,  aims  not 
to  alleviate  but  to  cure,  and  to  stimulate  the  natural  good  in 
society,  material,  moral  and  intellectual,  that  it  may  over- 
come the  evil.    We  are  recognizing  more  and  more  the  prin- 
ciple of  mutual  responsibilitv  and  interdeiK-ndence  of  men 
and  classes.     Yet  this  very  ..rinciple,  modern  as  it  seems, 
was  recognized  by  the  Jewish  sages,  as  we  see  in  the  remark- 
able passage  where  the  rabbis  comment  on  the  law  concernmg 
the  case  of  a  slain  bcnly  found  in  the  field,  with  the  murderer 
unknown.    The  Bible  commands  that  in  such  a  case  the 
elders  of  the  city  should  kill  a  heifer,  wash  their  hands  over 
it   and  say:   "Our  hands  have  m)t  shed  this  blood,  neither 
have   our  eyes   seen   it."'     The   rabbis   then   ask:    "How 
could  the  elders  of  a  city  ever  be  suspected  of  the  crime  of 
murder?"  and  their  reply  is:   "Even  if  they  only  failed  to 
provide  the  poor  in  their  charge  with  the  necessary  food,  and 
he  became  a  highway  robber  and  murderer ;   or  if  they  left 
him  without  the  necessary  protection,  and  he  fell  a  victim  to 
murderers,  they  are  held  responsible  for  the  crime  before  the 
higher  court  of  God."  «    That  is,  according  to  our  station  we 
are  all  responsible  for  the  social  conditicns  which  create 
«  Deut.  XXI,  1-8.  '  5>»lfe  "     ^- ;  ^^  ^'  7- 


THE   ETHICS  OF  JUDAISM 


489 


poverty  and  crime,  and  It  in  i)ur  duty  to  establish  surh  rela- 
tions between  the  individual  and  the  rommunity  a*  will 
remove  the  causes  o(  all  the  tvils  of  sotiity 

II.   Thin,  in  a  way.  anticipate^  the  third  maxim  of  Hillel : 
"If  not  now,  when  then?"     JudaJMH  cannot  accept  the  New 
Testament  spirit  of  other  worldliness,  which  prompied  the 
teaching:  "Take  no  thought  for  your  life  what  ye  shall  eat 
or  what  ye  shall  drink,  nor  yet  for  your  bmly  what  ye  shall 
put  on,"  or  "Resist  not  evil."'     Such  a  view  disregards 
the  values  and  duties  of  domestic,  civic,  and  industrial  life, 
and  creates  an  insi'parable  gulf  between  sacred  and  profane, 
between  religion  and  culture.     In  contrast  ti»  this    Jewish 
ethics  sets  the  highest  value  u|>«>n  all  things  that  make  man 
more  of  a  human  being  and  incre.ise  his  jxtwer  of  doing  gootl. 
To  Judaism  marriage  and  home  life  are  rt  gard»  «1  as  the  normal 
conditions  of  human  welfareand  sane  morality,  while  celibacy 
is  considered  abnormal.-     Labor  e>.tabli^lus  the  dignity  of 
man,' while  wealth  is  a  source  of  blessing,  a  stewardship  in  the 
service  of  society.*     In  opi)«)sition  to  the  practice  fo>iered  by 
the  Esscnes  and  aftenvards  adopted  by  the  early  Church,  of 
devoting  one's  whole  fortune  to  charity,  the  rabbis  decreed 
that  one  should  not  give  over  one  fifth  of  one's  iM)ssessions.* 
As  has  well  been  said.  Judaism  teaches  a  "robust  morality."  • 
It  regards  life  as  a  continual  battle  ft»r  God  and  ri^ht  against 
every  sort  of  injustice.^  for  truth  against  every  kind  of  false- 
hood.    At  the  same  time  it  ft)sters  also  the  gentler  virtues  of 
meekness,"  kindness  to  animals."  peaceablencss  and  mcxlesty.'" 

>  Matt.  VI,  35-28,  V,  30;  <omp.  Cr.  \I.  6-7. 

>  Yeb.  6;  a,  f)i  a.  '  Prov.  XXII,  jg ;   N'ol  4Q  b. 

*  Ber.  8  a,  rcf.  to  Ps.  CXXVIII,  .'.  *  Ki-th   so  a. 

•  Morris  Joseph  in  Rrliiimt^  .Vvv/cmv  of  the  World,  iSoj,  p.  701. 

'  Deut.  I,  17 ;  see  Schmiidl  :   D.  Lrhre  v.  K^mpf  um'i  Raht,  187s. 
•Ps.  XXXVII,  11;  Shab.  HH  b. 

•Ex.  XXIII,  5.   Deut   XXV,  4;   I'r..v   XII,  10;   Git.  6i  a. 
5^  Aboth.  I,  i; ;  iV,  4,  :-• ,  Taan.  ;c  b. 


il 


III 


t.-^ 


r 


1  ■'^:! 


, "« i. « 


m 


-!      f 


4QO 


JKWISM   THKOLfM-.Y 


1 1.   JcwMi  tlhic H  cxccU  all  other  rlhual  »)ntcm»,  cH{)rcially 
In  it«  in»Utc'nco  t»n  purity  ami  holiruHs.     Not  only  l«  any 
umh.i'^tf  look,  ihounht,  t»r  ait  ron«lrtntu«l,  exactly  as  In  ihe 
Strmon  on   the   Mount, '  a»  approaihinK  .ulullcry.*  but  all 
profanity  of      t  «ir  ^|MTih  is  cU»l.ir««l  to  he  an  unpardonable 
«»l!cnM'  uKaih  .  the  majesty  of  (.««!*     M«K|e?tty  in  ilcmianor 
ami  «lre?»H  wa«»  Inith  preaihed  ami  pratUced  by   the  Jews 
throughout    the    Middle  A^eH.   while   in    non  Jewi<^h  tirclc* 
eoarM-neHs  and  lewdness  prevailed  among  high  and  low,  in 
minstrel  sonn  and  nionastii  life.     "The  Lord  thy  GikI  walk- 
fth  in  the  nii<ht  of  thy  tamp  .  .  .  therefore  shall  thy  tamp 
be  ht>ly,  that  He  see  no  unseemly  thin«  in  thee,  and  turn  away 
from    thee,"  '     These    Hiblieal    words    created    among    the 
Kssenes   (the   /.rnuim)   and   later   among   the  entire  Jewish 
people  a  spirit  of  chastity  and  modesty   whiih   made  the 
Jewish  home  of  old  a  mtnlel  of  purity  ami  sanctity.     The 
great  p'  I'     >  for  im  d<rn  Israel,  amid  our  present  allurements 
of  luxury  and  pleasure,  is  to  restore  the  htmii  to  it-,  j.risfine 
glory  as  a  sanctuary  of  (iod,  a  training  school  for  virtue,  so 
thit  its  influence  may  extend  over  the  whole  of  life. 

i^.  Thus  Jewi^h  ethics  derises  its  sanction  from  the  idea 
of  a  (iod  of  holiness.  But  it  never  made  life  austere,  depriv- 
ing it  of  joy,  or  begrudging  man  his  cheerfulness  and  laughter. 
On  the  iiintrary.  the  Sabbath  and  many  of  the  holy  days  are 
seast)ns  of  joy,  fur  gladness  should  bring  the  s|)irit  of  God 
near  to  man,''  Moreover,  the  Talmud  holds  that  wc  should 
ent  iiurage  every  means  of  promoting  (  heer  among  men.  This 
is  illustrated  by  one  «if  the  popular  legends  of  the  prophet 
Klijah,  who  told  the  saintly  Rabbi  Beroka,  who  prided  him- 

'  .M.ill    V,  J7-J0. 

'  Jol)  \\\l,  1  ,  IVs,  R  XXrV;  l.iv   R.  XXIII.  i .' ;  Rer,  u  b;  \i<!  ij  a. 

'Sh.il,  jj  a,  rifirrinK  to  l-a  IX,  17,  Hin  Sira  XXIII,  13;  Test.  Twelve 
Patriatihs,  piisum.  *  Dcut.  XXIII.  14. 

HHiit.XVI,  11;  14  f  ,  Shall  ii.Ka,  IVs,  K,  XXIII;  Meg,  16  b;  Shab. 
30  b;  Ucr.  jia,  comp,  M.  Ld/urus,  1.  c,  JS4-261. 


TIIE  KTIIKS  OF  JUDAISM 


49« 


self  upcm  hU  austerity,  that  hi  comjunion'*  In  Paradiw  were 
t«>  be  two  jc«liT».  iH-iaUM"  tht-y  rhrrrnl  the  clrprcHswil  and 
ImrraMul  the  joy  in  thr  w«rlii ' 

.\%  a  matter  «)(  fait,  the  JrwUh  ideal  of  holinc'*!*  !■»  all- 
Inilu^lve      It  aims  to  hallo.v  every  pursilt   ami  en<leavor, 
all  MKial  relations  and  activities,  insistiiiK  only  on  a  |)ure 
motive  and  di^interesteil  wTvite      As  the  Ruler  of  life  i^  the 
source  of  all  morality,  v)  all  of  life  Hh«»ul<l  he  made  ho!y  with 
duty.     Man  lM*n»mes  a  ehild  of  (»«><|  tht  .u^h  hi>  res|»onsi 
bility,  instead  of  remaining  a  mere  priKlui  t  of  the  sm  iai  fortes 
about  him  or  of  ilaiminK  vlf  >unu lent  sovfreignty  an«l  refus- 
ing to  aeknowle<lge  a  higher  Will.     Jewish  ethics  is   lutono- 
mous,  Iwcause  it  insists  on   the  divine  spirit   in  man '     As 
we  ft)llow  the  divine  Pattern  of  holiness,  all  that  we  have  and 
are.  Innly  and  soul,  wed  and  woe,  wealth  and  want,  pain  and 
pleasure,  life  and  death,  become  ste[)pinK  stones  on  the  road 
t«)  holinciw  ami  ginlliness.     Life  i>.  like  a  ladder  on  whiih  man 
can  rise  from  rouml  to  round,  to  come  ivir  nearer  ti)  (Itnl  on 
Migii  who  beckons  him  toward  ever  higher  ideals  ami  iU  hieve- 
mcnts.     Man  and  humanity  are  thus  given  the  potentiality 
of    infmite    progress    in    every   direction.     Science    and    art, 
industry  and  commerce,  literature  and  law,  every  pursuit  of 
man   comes  within    the  scope  of   religion    ami   ethics.     Ft)r 
(iotl's  kingdom  of  truth,  righteousness  ami  |>eace,  as  beheld 
by  Israel's  seers  of  old.  will  be  fully  established  on  earth  only 
when  all  the  forces  oi  material,  intellet  tual,  and  social  life 
have  been  unft)Ided.  when  all  the  prophetii  ideals,  the  visions 
and  aspirations  of  all  the  seers  of  humanity  have  been  realized, 
and  the  Zion  heights  of  h  iman  perfection  have  at  last  been 
attained.     "  T»ie  wix'  ^ive  no  rest,  neither  in  this  world  nor 
in  the  world  to  comt    !  >r  it  is  s.iid  :   '  they  go  iwm  strength 
to  strength,  (until]  th-y  apix-ar  before  G<xl  tm  Zion.'  "^ 


»  Taan.  12  a.  '  "^'  ^  I.axarus,  1.  i .,  <jq- 

'-  Be:.  04  a,  refer,  to  P-  LXXXIV,  H;  =:ir,:p.  I.-iianis. !.  c.  ; 


2S0. 


I 


Si   JSt,    ■:. 

11.    1    5 


■  (     .  (  ■ 

■■}: 

\  il 

i^y 

i  !^' 

1 

if  i^ 

^"  V-^Pl 

mi. 

LIST  OF  ABBREVIATIONS 


A.  d.  R.  N Aboth     <li     Rabbi 

Nathan 

A.  T Altes  Testament 

Ab.  Z Aboda  Zarah 

Ag Agada 

Ann Annotations 

Ant Antiquities      (of 

Josephus) 

Ap Apionem,  contra 

Apoc Apocalyptic 

Arak Arakin 

Art Article 

B Babli  (Babylonian) 

b ben 

B  B Baba  Bathra 

B.  H Beth  ha  Midrash 

B.  K Baba  Kamma 

B.  M Baba  Metzia 

Beitr Beitraege 

Ber Berakoth 

Bibl Bible  or  Biblical 

Q  c.  A.  R Central  Conference 

of         American 
Rabbis 

Cant Canticles 

Chron Chronicles 

Ch Chapter 

Comm Commentary,  -ies 

Comp Compare 

Cor Corinthians, 

Epistle  to 


Dan Daniel 

Deut .Deuteronomy 

Diet Dictionary 

Eccl Ecclcsiastes 

Enc Encyclopedia 

(d)  Brit.  Britannia 
(6)  R.  a.  Eth.      . 
of    Reli- 
gion and 
Ethics 

Ep Epistle 

Eph Ephesians,    Epistle 

to 

Ethnol Ethnologische 

Ex. Exodus 

Ez Ezekicl 

G.  J Geschichte         der 

Juden  (Graetz) 
G.  Jud Geschichte         des 

Judenthums 

(Josl) 
G.V.I Geschichte         des 

Volkes        Israel 

(Schuerer) 
Gal Galatians,    Epistle 

to 

Gen Genesis 

Ges.  Abh Gesammelte      Ab- 

handlungen 

Ges.  Schrf Gesammelte 

Schriften 

493 


W'^  i 

m,         "     v. 

.     /■^rTC'-,_'**^--7- 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

^^^^^^^^^^H 

&^5 '       J 

^^k7^^^ 

iS''**^ 

^i^ft  'i 

^^^^^hJ 

IBi  j 

-  "^^^^Hi 

H^l     ' 

a^^^t^^^BH 

^9   1 

^^^^^BiRTH 

!rV    ^ 

494 

L.'<^^^^ffii 

111  i : 

Gesch.u.  Lit. 

,  ' .  V 


■1' I  ■ 

#  -.''1  ^ 

til'        '.^ 

m  : 


I 


II 


I  "i'i 


;lii't 


:5|. 


ill  h  >^-     ' 


i.  • 


Geschichte 
Literature 
Gottesd Gottcsdiensllichc 

H Hilkoth 

H.  B Handbuch 

H.  J History    of     Jews 

(Gruetz) 

H.  U.  C Hebrew  Union  Col- 
lege 

Hab Habakkuk 

Hag Hagigah 

Hist History 

Hor Horayoth 

Hul Hullin 

Introd Introduction 

Isai Isaiah 

Israel Israelitisch 


LIST  OF  ABBREVIATIONS 


and       KU Kilayim 


m. 


J Journal 

J.  E Jewish  Encyclo- 
pedia 

J.  Q.  R Jewish     Quarterly 

Review 

J.  W Jewish  War  (Jose- 

phus) 

Jahrb Jahrbuch 

Jer Jeremiah 

Jew Jewish 

Josh Joshua 

jud Judenthums 

Judg Judges 

Jued Juedisch 

K.  A.  T "Die   Keilinschrif- 

ten  und  das  Alte 
Testament" 

Ker Kerithoth 

Kelh Kcthuboth 


L Literature 

1.  c loco     citato,     the 

same  place ; 

libro  citato,  the 
same  book  (for 
the  usual  o.  c.  = 
opere  citato). 

Lam Lamentations 

Lev Leviticus 

M.  K Moed  Katan 

Mace Maccabees,     Book 

of 

Maim Maimonides 

Mak Makkoth 

Mai Malachi 

Mas Masseketh 

Meg Megillah 

Mek Mekiltha 

Men Menahoth 

Mid Midrash 

Mtschr Monatschrift    fuer 

Geschichte  und 
Wissenschaii  des 
Judenthums 

Mitth Mittheilungen 

Nachgel-Schr.  .  Nachgelassene 
Schriften 

Neh Nehemiah 

Nid Niddah 

Numb Numbers 

P.  d.  R.  El. .  .   Pirke     di      Rabbi 
Eliezcr 

Pars Parsisch 

Pes Pesahim,  -ee 

Pes.  R Pesikta  Rabbathi 


LIST  OF  ABBREVIATIONS 


495 


Pesit Pcsikta     di     Rab 

Kahana 
Pha Philosophy  or  Phil- 
osophical 

Prov Proverbs 

Prot Protcstantisch 

Ps Psalms 

Psych Psychologisch 

Quel Qudlen 

R Rabbah,         also 

Rabbi,  Rahban 

R.  h.  Sh Rosh  ha  Shanah 

R  W   B Real-Woerlerbuch 

ref referring    or    ref- 
erence 
Rel Religion 

S.  O Seder  01am 

S    V sub  ^'    ■'   ^ 

Sam Samut. 

Sanh Sa":"drin 

Sh.  A Shuihan  Aruk 

Shab Shabuoth 

Sibyl Sibylline  Books 

Slav Slavonic 


Soc 

.  Society 

Stud 

Studien  or  Studies 

Suk 

Sukkah 

Syst..  . 

.System     or      Sys- 

tematu 

T.  (1.  b.  E. 

TannadibeEliahu 

T;inh 

.    .Timhuma 

Teh 

,  ,  Teh'llim 

Theol 

Theologisch 

Tos 

.     Toscfta 

Tosaf 

. .  .Tosafoth 

.  und  or  uel)cr 


\V.  B VVoerterbuch 

Wiss Wissenschaft        or 

Wissensthaftlich 


Yalk Valkut 

y  B Yearbook 

Ypb Yobamoth 

Y^,r Ye'ushalmi 


Zech.   . 
Zciischr. 


Zethariah 
Zeilschnft 


li 


It  ,■ 


ii 


1'  ■  •■■?( 


t!!' 


^M 


iN;^ 


3][ 


;„^, 


INDEX 


Aaronites,  344  '• 

Ab,  Ninth  of,  461,  469 

Abba  Arcka 

See  Ral> 
Abbahu,  I5,i.  4" 
Abflion,  J45.  27'.  43* 
AbUt,  403 
Abraham,  .w.  t>i.  65  '-.  "»■  "4.  '«).  ■'5'>. 

2(ii.  .W<>.  .».»<>'■•  4>7 
Abraham  Un  David  of  I'osquicri-s,  14.  «i. 

3.57.  J«7  ^         ^         „ 

Abraham    ibn    Daud,    32,    b8.    Uf>.    '7». 

3g3 
Abraham  Ibn  Ezra,  97.  J  S3.  >»».  «9°.  «94. 

37.1 

Abrahams,  Israel.  iq2.  346,  348 
Abravanel,  Isaac,  27 
Abstinence 

6Vf  Asceticism 
Abulafia,  Abr.,  4.!' 

Adam.  223-230.  244.  353;   heavenly.  437 
Adonai,  59.  <».  33 1  f..  359 
Affliction,  130 
Ahha,  U.,  224 
Ahriman,  30".  3*3  f. 

Atiba,  R.,  M-  '<>.  •".  So.  n^.  uo  1..  15°. 
176,  2i6,  222,  232,  357,  359.  3>i.  jt". 

467  .  , 

Albo,  Joseph.   24-26,  163  f..  272  f..  294. 

309-339 
Alenu,  57.  33i.  34i.  477 
Alfarabi,  68 
Allegory,  116,  224,  268 
Alpha  and  Omega.  137 
Altruism,  4^3 
Am  haarctz,  347.  358 
Amos,  248,  264,  334 
Anaxoras,  37.  67.  84 
Angels.  81,  180-188 
Anger 

See  Wrath 
Animals,  489 

Anselm  of  Canterbury,  68 
Anthropology,  304 

jK  497 


Anthropomorphism,  74-76.  lis'- 
.Xntigonus  of  Soki),  480 
.■\ntin<imi;in,  42H.  4  tg 
Antoninus.  401,  422 
ApicDrus  —  Epicurean,  Ji.  65 
Aix)calyptic  books,  12  f..  232  f.,  283 
.\[X)cryphal  b(H)k8,  12  f. 
Aix>l"getics.  4 
A[»>state.  ().  424  f. 

AlK)StU■^.  4,<S 

Aixistolic  convention.  436 

Aquilas,  28O,  421 

Artlim,  402 

Arir^teas.  ,U7 

Aristotelian,  38  68,  75.  8v.   «S3.  ''^'3.  J73. 

301 

Aristotle,    I,   07,    84.    87.    153.    315,    359. 

405 
Arnold.  Matthew,  '.ii,  131 
Art,  480  f. 

Articles  of  faith,  ig-33 
Ar>an,  Q,  58 

.\sceticism,  150,  189,  31S,  490 
Asenath,  416 
Assimilation,  12,  396 
.\thcism.  65,  67 

Atonement.  254 

Atonement,  Day  of,  466-469 

Attributes  of  God 
See  God 

Aub,  Jos<'ph.  446 

Autonomy  of  morality,  49' 

.\zazel,  I  go,  194.  466 

Azkarah,  263 

Babylonian,  11,  15.  75.  "S.  ''8,  140,  181, 

220,  -'40.  356 
Bacher.  \V..  76 
Bahya  ben  .\sher.  486 
Bahya  b.  Joseph  ibn  Pakudah,  3.  68,  i75. 

391.  473  ,     , 

Banquet  of  the  pious  in  the  future,  30S 

Bsplism,  417.  43<> 

Bar  Kochba,  361.  J84.  38s 


' 


498 


INDEX 


i.  ill 


:^! », 


mi 


'i! 


BathinK 

.SVf  Baptism 
Baih  Kill,  ioi 
Hick.  I.  ,  15 
Hroihir.  W   J  ,  41 
Belief,  JO,  65 

Srf  alio  Faith 
Bin  Xti.-'-.  'J4.  Jii.  480 

B.-n  Sira.  .,(.  40,  J.W.  '»>.  »"d  cl«-wherc 

Bin  Ziima,  jiJ 

HeniMlii lions,  Kinhtien.  u5.  '«■>•  '»•»•  ■"" 

Bonrvulenco,  U'),  A^$ 

Bi-ntwich,  N  ,  140.  •"/> 

BirKson,  H  ,  7'.  '54 

Birnays.  J  ,  4«.  4ii 

Biroka,  R  ,  4go 

BtTOSUS,    J  I.J 

Btrtholet.  .\  ,  40O 
BtTuria,  1 10,  .jq6 
BfzoM,  C,  ig4 
BiWiial  canon,  11,  4J.  'Ol 
Bloih,  M.,  II 
Bloth,  Ph.,  J.5.  'S'> 
Bloixl,  4*.  tii 
Bi«ly,  Jog,  J14 
BockUn.  E.,  joj  f. 

Bousiot,  W.,    IQ.   4.<f..  6''-   74.   84,    «i.i 
128,  143  f-.  iSS.  195.  146.  152.  J03 

Breath  of  life,  2 1 2 

Brugsth,  H.,  j88 

Buddha,  405i  473 


Compassion  ol  Ood 

Set  (lixl 
Compiission  of  man,  n6 
Coniiesi  ension  of  God 

See  (loll 
Confc^Mon,  5.  'O.  ">' 
Confirmation,  44Q.  4<'t.  473 
Confuiius,  405,  47* 
Consiience,  .io,  64 
(unsiiousneHS,  Man's,  of  (»od,  JO 
Continuity  of  soul 
See  Immortality 
Continuity  with  the  pft*t,  14 
Conversion,  4 '8,  4' J 
Cosmogony,  148  f. 
Cosmology,  i4« 

Cosmos,  08,  i4f>  ^         ,  ,.^ 

Covenant.  Gods.  48.  SL  iS7-i6«.  >3S-'7<». 

Creation,  147-iS.l 

Creative  principles.  103 

Credo,  22-2$.  Ji 

Crescas,  Hasdai.  J4  f-.  >i«.  ^^i'  «7J.  «94, 

;  i6  f.,  2Qi,  J08  f 
Critical  research  of  Bible 

See  Historical  research 
Cross,  4.48 
Culture,  (10.  363 
Curtiss,  S.  1.,  454 
Cuzari 

See  Jehuda  ua  Levi 
Cyrus,  85.  334 


>  l!i.ll 


Cabbilah.  J03,  J44.  J04.  473 

Calendar.  Jewish.  460 

Calvin.  i<J5 

Caro,  Joseph,  56 

Cassel,  D.,  214.  236.  48g 

Celibacy,  313.  3 16 

Ceremonies,  346,  449  S- 

Charles,  R.  H.,  28J 

Cheerfulness,  318,  40° 

Cheynr,  T.  K  ■  40Q 

Christ' vn  Science,  178 

Christian  theoloRy.  5.  H3.  192.  248.  352  « 

304,  347.  355  ^,  I 

Christian  trinity,  5''.  8^  »>o'-  ^^  '• 
Christianity,  i7,  4i.  54.  "&■  329,  4^7 
Christianity,  Pauhnian,  12,  51.  "^.  439 
Christ(os).  86,  221,  433.  437 
Church's  providential  mission.  444 
Circumcision,  5°.  346.  402,  416,  449  '■ 
Civilization.  316 
Clemens,  Flavius.  421 
Cu'ne:!,  Ilenr,".-;-.   196 
Commerce,  Jewish,  364 


Dama  ben  Nethina,  399 
Daniel,  288 
Darwin,  iS4 
David,  24J.  2QI 

David  ben  Zimra.  27  ^l       c   1 

Davidson.  A  B.,  8j,  us  f-.  U9, 167.  i»'  «•• 
247.  370 

Day  of  judgment,  394 

Day  of  the  Lord 
See  JHVH,  Day  of 

Death.  85.  i77.  278 f. 

Deism,  70 

Delitzsch,  Fried.,  6 

Dembitz,  L.  N.,  269 

Demons,  iqo  fl. 

Descartes,  68 

Determinism.  255.  330 

Deulerc-  Isaiah,  51.  8s.  267,  336,  369 
Dietary  laws,  346.  45'  '•  _ 

DiUmann,  A..  30  f..  59.  83  ff ..  «57  A-.  23» 

1  Doctrine,  47 

1  Doeiiinger,  J.  J.  I.  v.,  54 


rs*5^' 


INDEX 


499 


IlorniT.  \  ,  'i,  iS 

|)n,iltH.lll,    I  t 

Dr.il-r,  J    W  .  HH 
Dnimmn.i.l.  J  .  '■■>.  7J  I- W' 


17S,  1H4,  i.Sij    JI4.  Ji^.  4i'* 


V>l 


JS7.   J05,   Jl''. 


l)ii.ili-m.  «S  f 

Diilmii,  >  .  7 

Diiran.  Simon.  J4 

Duly,  i:'* 

Duly  Id  f.ll"W  m^in,  U').  4M 

Duly  li>  ^ilf.  4^'' 

r,.  .loiasti.  al.  s.  •'» 

F.i  Maty ,   (S 

Ivlom        Komc.  4  40 

Kinhorii.  K.ivi.l,  viii.    iH").  ♦4'>.  45  I ' 

F.llioKiii,  I  .  .''«; 

Klia/.ar  1»'"  I'nlath,  W) 

KKvliiin  i>(  Itrail 

,S'.Y  I-rail 
Klii-zcr  li>n  Hyriaiius,  50, 

404.  4i'< 
Klijah,  4f'.  40 
Klitha  Ikmi  Miuyah.  iiS< 
Klnhim,  S?' .  '«ot..  J 10,  405 
Emilon,  Jaiol),  4.!7 
Kiioih,  2M.  iS'J 
Ksihatidok'y 

,SVf  Futun-  liii' 
Ksihilbailur.  J  ,  15 
K-im-s    I.-.  40.   I"*.   >«t.   "^5.   "J',  i''-' 

414,  4,W.  4«l.  4«*)f- 
KUTtiily,  <)!<  (• 

Ethics,  6g,  1:0,  jigH,  477>  49i 
Kukin,  R  ,  i<j5 
Kvil,  17<',  17" 
Evil,  Spirilt  of,  iSg-iyO 
Evolution,  11,  .((>,  100 
Exile,  Buhylonian,  10  f.,  2M> 
Ezekiel,  i,i,  105,  JJ'.  ■'49.  2*3.  ^W, 

Ezra,  10  f.,  n 

Faith,  10  f. 
Faithfulness  of  God 

.Sir  GoU 
FaitlifuliHSsof  Israel 

,SVf  Israel 
Falashas,  n,  4S7 
Family  life,  .5i<J 
F'aslinK,  \^i 
Fate,  if.S 

Falherhoo<l  of  Gixi,  256-260 
I'ear  of  God.  2g 
Feast  of  Weeks 
See  Shabuoth 


FiNiiiih.il.  B  ■  n) 
Fi-,u\al-.  I'll   470 
llii.ilIU,  '1,   (7'^  (. 
link.l-.  Ii.r.r,  i.j4 
II., tl,    M^ 

F.rmili^'ii,  iSi,  47J 
h,„|.r,  !>.■,  .'71 
1  raiikri,  /,  .   \,  4  1 
Frnit  riik  II.  Ill 
Fr.v.loin  ol  will,  171  '  . 
Frii.ll,iii>|.  r.  G  ,  4i^ 
Frii-riil-liii).   11 H 
Future  life,  .'Hi    io^ 


-MI,  2  17 


,  15 

7\ 


3  a  f.. 


,  4-'7 

Mi 

;,  Hi,  142 


(i.iliirol.  s,,l,,m,)i\  Ihn.  .>vd. 
f.ani.iliel,  77.  ')7.  '•''■  'i- 
lleheuua,  1 10 
CuiKer,  .\lir.ili.in\,  viii.    '. 

<i»,   110,  .'01,    II'',    li  '. 
Geuiu'.    (S.  lOi 
Ger,  >o.  400  ll 

See  dl<t)  I'r.i.rh  le 
(ler-huin  ben  Jelunla.  17-' 
Cer^Mmi.le*.  i,i,  i5".  "'«,  -' i'l 
Gin/.litri:.  .\--li'r.  7 
(MioMii  i^in.  S(i,  1  11 
G.id.  =;.'    1  1^ 
Gnil  no  .il>ttraili"n 
(;o<l  ..f  the  father,,  1" 
Go<r-,  ioii.leseeii-.ioii,  7 
e-,-.ein  e.  7  .'   ^il 
eternity.  o->   100 
exi^tetP  e.  (i|   7' 
f.iilhfulne-,.  I  U    I  ;7 
falherlKKxI.  .'S"-  -"« 
forekiiowleilwe,  to-, 
goodness.  1  2I',  i  (2 
Kraee.  ii4'-.  -4'' *■ 
holiness.  100  io<),  I4<jf 
imnianenie.  7<)  f.,  yS 
ini.oriK)realily 

See  Spirituality 
jealousy,  54,  «i.  >0S 
justiee,  iiS,  12S 
kingilom 

See  IviuK'doni  of  God 
knowliflKe,  I.5!i-I4l 
nieny,  1 13 


H.),  gH,  141,  l»7 
.'.H-j 


1.'.    II  IT..  .i5.  45. 
.  172 


•144 


107 


name- 


5H,  (.. 


oiiiniiiolenee.  oi   <)5 


ommiirest'nee 


O'l^S 


lisiienee,  Q  V  OS 


per 


ility,  7.i-7(J.  <)«•  lo*''  '44 
relali'in  to  the  world,  146-151 
sclf-consciousness,  73 


INDEX 


^;  'i 


lit  1  ^ 


111 

§ 


i 

*  1 

.( 

•  aI 

»J 

i« 

1': 

'.-fi 

fH 

t ' 

ii 

)  j 

Oo't'''.  —  CoHlmu'd 

»piril.  07   'oo.  II.  man,  Jl6->iO 

•piriluality,  Ji.  71-7H 

nupcrmiinilaniity.  <)>i 

tr.invrnilrnir.  7-t  f  .  lOO 

truthfulness.  1  u'  t7 

unity,  «i  go.  Q'' '  •  'o* 

«i-.iiiini,  I  (H  (, 

writli  anil  imni^hmtnt.  107 
C.kI  ihiM^hip,  .Man't,  ;; 
Ci.kI  ionsuou->iie>'^.  M.in -..  .'y- U 
(««l',  Hcilhrn,  51.  IM,  1  i^).  '77 
(■•     1.  iS'> 

».   ,'  and  MaRoK,  jHi,  (Si 
Holdfn  rule,  4«4 
Culdzihir,  I  ,  Ji,  44' 
(;.Kxlnf«.  iJl'.  liJ.  '5° 
(...y,  400 
(iraii'  of  •  ""I 

Sfe  (ioil 
Crat'lz,  II  .  7.  41.  4 1^  47 J 
(;riTk  ihurih,  4-'i) 
tthi.  •^.  4tl 

philosophy.  I  J.  -M,  '''•  '••  ^1  '■■  i'i 
wivloni,  .V('> 

(Iri'ssmanii.  11  .  .i7'' 

(lufilimunn.  M  ,  4-.  155 

tluumann,  J.,  21,  JoO 

Ilahakkuk,  i  i4 

Haltarah,  .<.S7 

Haggaila  ami  Halakah,  i;  f. 

Hananel,  R.,  m 

Haninah  btn  Dosa.  i<>.i,  i(>3,  27J 

Hanukkah,  4o<) 

Harnark.  .\  ,  4U 

HarptT,  R.  F..  igo 

Hartmann,  K.  v.,  7H 

Hasiilim  and  Hasi<U'an,  (n 

jM,i,  2Sg.  jO^^.  444 
Hatri-d.  ioS 

Heathcni-m,  52.  S7.  8i  f  .  '7^  JW  I -.  4°$ 
IKtiri'W,  1(1.  470  i. 
HdU),  R.,  4ii 
Helen  of  Adiahcnr.  416 
Hillcnism,  .(,<.  V(5 
Hellenistic   JudaiMn, 
414 
literature,  i;,  -\5H 
philoMiphy.  -' W 

propapimda,  25"  f-.  3.Ui  4IS  '••  4if> 
Ilertord,  R.  T,  4W 
Ikv.ekiah,  281 
Ililkl.    !  '7:    -"^^   i'24 
481  ff. 


Ii7,  if),},  jOOf., 


4S1 


2.iJ,     289,    30,j,     U* 


.<?■;,   3(>0,   418,   4-i 


Hillrl.  R  .  \^' 

Mtltul  -nd  Kiddu»h  ha^hi-m,  mH  I, 

jlir^h.  K    ti  .  i'».  4^'*.  40 

llirvh.  Sanixin  Raphael.  jf>q,  4JJ 

llir^h,  S   .\  ,  407 

llir^h,  Samuel,  viii,  44'> 

lli^loriial  rewarih,  4.  >^.  4* 

Ho.  hmulh.  .\  ,  J|  I 

HoMheim,  Samuel,  viii,  46J 

Holme-.-.,  loj,  icx;,  »77  '  .  44' 

Holini-.<.  (i.mI  •* 
SVi"  (iixl 

Holiiie^',  Loviliial,  104 

Holy  I.iiid 
.S'ci    l'ale>tinr 

Holy  spirit,  ii,  200I. 

Horowitz.  S  ,  Ji  (.,  U 

H.irwitz,  Sal)li.ithai,  14 

llo-«a,    .'y,   V>.   I'll.   -'«Q.    ■>",    l<'4.  J»4. 

Humanity,  si.  UC  M^.  •>''**.  475 
Ilusik,  (7.  'iHtT  .  Ml  f  .  .'1)1  1. 


Ilm  Pau.l 

s,Y  Ahraham  ilm  Daud 
Itm  K/.ra 

Sfi-  .Vbraham  Um  Ezra 
ll,n  Sina,  (>.S 
Ihn  Verwa,  \M 
IhrrinK,  R.  v.,  jog 
Imitatio  IKi,  477.  470.  4QO 
Imman.nic  of  (>od 

Scr  tiod 
lnim.irt.ility,  i4.  2A().  2g7 
Individual  man,  jio 
Inilustry.  (17 
Inspiration,  i'j  f- 
Institution  o(  the  synagogue 

See  SynaRoRue 
Intercession,  ioo  f.,  406  f. 
IntemiarriaKc,  444  f. 
Intermeiliary  pc.wers,  io7   ^OS 
Internationalism,  ,wi  f 
Intolerance,  404  f. 
Isaac  l.en  Slusheth,  171,  4^7 
I^iac  Napaha,  4'« 
Isaiah,  .;4.   -'tJ4.  .i"8.  3.U.  397 
Ishniael,  4;,^ 

M.im,  17,  .1.  8(.  f,,   ;Ji).  4^7.  44J  «• 
Islam's  mission   m\ 
Israel,  i.So  f.,  (07 
Israel's,  characteristics,  JJ6  f. 
commerce,  j()4 
consecration,  M 
clccLiuu,  o7.  j*o  io^ 


Mi 


INPFX 


50 » 


ho|ir,  (?>*    i')'.  t')'    t""^ 
m.irlyr.l.ini,   n.  1  iO.  ti'J.  t^i?    177 
mi»'>i'iri,  i;**   *|i.  n-i    t^4 
lultiirji.   t'M 

|(r.i|iliiii    Riiiiii-',  ii».  101.  I.'.',  ^^l 
nl.iiioii  1.1  ilw  rijiiiii-,  (),  (07   i'>y 
s«-i).iriliiir>*«.  S.    147  (.   I'H,    i7).   llU. 

AM 

wiirM  'luly,  I'l 

JUVII        J.ihvrh.  4V  5t>,  'i(.  7'.  •"»,  117. 

jo;.  ;.Ho 
JIIVII,  l).iy  ..(.  Ml 
J.itni-i,  Will  ,  -',  I 
J. lit  row,  J  ,  -•')') 
Jastniw,  Morri..  1  jH 
Jtalouty  i>f  (i(Ml 

Sir  CkxI 
Ji'hu>l.i  ll.i  l.i-\i.  M.    l!*.  70,  los.   no,  III. 
I(>,1,   1S7,   11)1,  i.'H.  .•.>!,  (;.),    t(i),   l-'i, 

4.II.  47s 
Jchiida  ha  N'u^i.  i.'H,   lOJ,  .(Os,  jot 
Jrllintli,  -MO 
Jeremiah,    10,   tS,  l  ••<>.   ^¥).  •'S^.   -"i?.   ^''V 

l-'O.  410 
Jerusalem,   US.   l'"!.  1-M 
Jeiiwol  N.i/areth,  4*1,  4U  ' 
Jew  and  Jewry,  7  (  .   i5').  i*>».  .(7'> 
Jew  hatred,  q 
Jewish  nationality,  S 
Jewish  religion 
Sfe  Juilaisin 
Job,  w.  ii\,  iSi.  .WQ.  .i70.  \T:.  A^i 
Jiiel,  ^?o 
Joel,  1)  ,  187 

Joel,  M  ,  ,t.  86,  m,  161.  I'M.  Iij'>.   i07  f 
Johanan.  R.,  7Q.  to'>.   iO<).  t-7 
Johanan  hen  Zakkai,  .'.•-•,  .'SH,  401 
John  the  Baptist,  4,^4 
John  Myrianus,  4u> 
Jonah,  ii7,  iso 
Jose,  K  ,  46,  :27 
Joseph  Ibn  /addik,  I.i6 
Joseph,  Morris,  lit),  170,  40.S,  4-o,  45?  f. 

45*^.  4*0 
Josephus,    Ji,   4''  f..    '17.    2.1.1.    40.S.   4tl. 

430 
Joshua  ben  Han.miah,  77,  J05,  340.  4.'.', 

4.W,  45.1.  455 
Jo.st,  M.,  7 
Joy  of  life.  318,  4Q0 
Juda  Ibn  Bakg,  144 
Judco-Chhstiaos,  437  f.,  4J9 


J.ii|,iiim    M.«lrrn  or   pro((rr^ilvr.  <i.    104. 

,W.   s'M.   1"    IK 
Jiid.iKin.  Kalil'ioi'  ,  t  II 
Jiidaii,  K  ,  I'"' 
Ju>llii-.  r  1  ■*    II    i^s  f 
Jii,llie,  s.Mi  ,1.   I  ,■.•.  1.I7 

k•ldlli^ll.     104,     (  tl 

K.inl,  Imm.inm  I.  ''<.  ''o,  1*) 

K..ir. litis,  ji   .H7,  17^ 

KaiiliiMni.,  ll.iM.I,  .'.'(.'•■'I.  -^o.  .j7.  <os, 

I  S  1.   I'lS  II 
Kr.lil-h.l,    I'l.- 
ki.i.lh.l.  Iii4i.ni     .iSf 
kiiiK'loni  ol  (,...1     .  ,1     111,  401 
Kliiii.  J  .   |i    .   I  .'    PJ 
Kiio»le.|>;i'  ..I  ti..'l,  .'t> 
knowlrdttr,  (toil  1 

S,r  (kmI 
Koelirrlf.  I  17 
koliili'th,  t.'t 
kohlir,  k  .  .'o,    i.'.   11.  -'fi7,    tot,   to<i.  A\A 

4»7.  4^1  f 
KoliUr,  M    J  ,  |0<) 
kohul,  Alex  .  I  •,  10') 
kr.iiiskopf,  J  .  Ill 
kremiT,  ,\    V  ,  .•-'.  87 
kuem  n.   \  .   i  i7 

Labor,  .'.•!,   ii7 

l.amc  and  blind  p.irable,  |OJ 

L.mdslxTK,  .M  ,  17  i 

l.an»?>-.  !•■    A  ,  87 

Uulerbaih.  J    /  ,  |  iO.  !"<-  ff  •  A>^ 

I..1W,  41;  47,  iis   is** 
l„lzarll^,  I.  ,  toll 
l,a,:arus,  M  ,  I ), 
l.e.kv,  W    K    II 
l,eo  llelir  leii^,  1  ii 
Leo  di  Modiii.i,  u 
Lessinc  K    »i  .  410 
Levi,  K  ,  .">H 
Levkovit>.  M  ,  178 
Lite  ab.itlle.  .'.S.- 
Loew,  Leopold.  .•-■.  .'7,  47J 
Loc've  bell  Hi/.iUI,  jjS 
UlROS,   loS  I. 

Li)ve,  ii  f  ,  i.M.  i-'fi   1,11.  4S4 
Love,  (iod's 

Srr  Cod 
Loyalty  to  country,  319  (. 
Luria,  ls,ia< ,  14 
Luther,  Martin,  195 
Luz,  -'.SS 


01,  loO,   140.  477  '■ 
il>;.   !'>».  443 


}Lywmmi9% 


'jLiti^. 


sot 


INPKX 


I  «■  I 


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1.0.  ..».  'V  ""■  "«  "**  '?  "• 
jj».  ;.•■<.  Jfl.  ■'"'*•  •"'■  *°'  '■  *^'' 
IW,   tl*'''.  ♦"•♦•  *'" 

M  Worn.  fiJ.  07 

Mm,  iHi.  JO"  '*' 
Man.  .hll.loHl-»l.  M".  "".   t'O 
Nt.ih  •«.  lirDlhtrhix'-li   U4.  l'< 
ilial  natutr.  ji  J    ••i7 
ilriliny  .in.l  ntlKin.  'l**    MO 
f.ill.  nt    as 

(r.r.|,,m  ..I  *iU.  lO*.  Ml    n7 
in.liviilii.ili'y.  JoH 
p,rf<<iil.ililv.  '*°    iOt 
.«'lf  I  on«i  i"iHni'w.  tS.  "'• 
Maiu->vh,  KiiiK,  Jii.  .'M 
Man;i->M-h  Un  I«r4il,  J.IQ 
M.inWin.l.  |io   iU 

MaruoliN  M'"''  ' 
Mirtynloni  ol  l^ritfl 

Srt  l'i-r->i.in 
Mca'»uri-  (■"  mra^iirp.  "4 
Me.lifval  J.wry.  C-i  I  .  n".  <>*"■  ■«" 
Mcir.  R.77.  iV.  -St.  'S*.  ^<»-  ^7*'  '^" 

40t.  4^o.  45 » 
M<'mra 

,SV<  l.oK<>t 
Mtn.lrU^ohn.    M  .    vii,    i<>.     \o.    '»*.    '4- 

Mi'fiy  '>•  ••'"' 

.S>r  Crtxl 
M«Tkal..ih.  i«7  u     „        ., 

M.-^ianU  ho,K-,  «.   U»l.   nH.  (H„,  .t«5 
Mis-iai\ii  kinKdi'i".  (-''  ^       ,        ^ 

Messiah.     J5.    .»H     '■     *7  *•     '^^^     '•    ■'■^"' 

400 
Mclaphy-ii  :il.  's    100.  los 
Mftatron       Mithra-.,  i«5.  "W 
Mirah,  n^.  t-'*^ 
MitriH'>'*n^.  io<) 
MicUintT,  M  .  44'> 
Mill.  John  Stuart.  181 
Miltot),  J  .  ms 

Minim  —  IlcTitii  s,  86,  424  H- 
Miratlc,  \(k  1(0  i 60 
Mi'taiilhropy.  <>.  UjH 
Mission  of  Israel 

.S>f  Israel 
MiKlesty,  4PO 
Mohammcil.  4.21)  (  ,  441  '• 
Mohammeclan  rchgiou 
Set  Islam 


Mohi»mmr.l«n  lhr..|..«v.  >.  «4.   »'    **-  *^' 

in.  |f>J,  17'     M^ 
Mi>iV'ih«l»m.  11   iN» 

\l.«iliilr,  4iH 

Klhi.rfl.  M,  <t.  f«»'  "'  „         a 

M..nl.l..>f.-,  tl.iu.l.'  ■        M,   M".    ItH.  41". 

M.irith     |V/ 
M.ir.il  "fief,   II)   I  )l 
Mi.rK'n»lern.  J  .   '  t" 
Mi>->.ii>  "hU-.   \\S.   H^.  »'4 
.ull.  J'M    2''8 
Uw,  1  t.  1''.   •'"•  "" 
Mo».ii»in,  ."*t  ^  „ 

M..*S     ,^    *7,     «".     >M    '•     '"*•     '"    "• 

240  (. 
Mueller.  Mav  %* 

Muiu.iliiy.  4'*'*  ^   .,     . ,, 

M>>liu.,n  .....I  my.liii.   (■  ' ».   l**.  *»•  '•"■ 
I  \«,  \S1.   17  » 


22.    70.    IJ-'.    <>«.    172, 


Naam;in,  »t» 

N.ihm.iMi.leH.  i<)4.  2H,  2M.  ■"»4.  t07.  4 J" 

Nalmni  «'(  iiini/.".  'SL  «"1 

Name-...!  C.-l.  S'*  'M 

S.iliunalivii.  Je»i-li.  I  (  f  .   ilS 

Nationality.  Jewi^i.  S 

N.llure,   I  »H.   IS'' 
Nature^  taws,  1  is.  i'^? 
\...I)lal<>iii-ni,  2,   '.7.  ^7.  '|J 
Nesturiatis,  4.',  ( 
N.lliir  w.irl.l,  27') 
Srr  .i/>.i  sheol 

Niamark.  Davhl. 
284.  2')7.  406 

Sew  Year's  D.iy.  4"S   4"8 

Niilo.  Paviil,  Ho 

Nirvana.  47'> 

Noah.  H''.  4^2  I     ,,, 

iNoahili.  laws,  48-.S<.  UO,  404.  4W  f..  4-7 
I  Noinism.  1  1.  44.   15S 

Nomos       Law,  4i 


Oath.  120 

OhjeUive  anil  suhje.tive  truths,  j 
(T.nomaos  of  (Ja.lara,  40* 
Oiiias  the  Saitit.  U'5.  268,  27  4 
OnloloRiial  proof 

.SV,  (loci's  existence 
Optimism,  ip.  W).  -'Si 
Or.ler.  Moral,  of  the  world,  i67 
Oriii\tali.sm,  170  '■ 
Orinin.  ,J74 

I  OUierworldlinc^,  124.  Hi 


i9S.  440.  4S9 


1  Si' 


r  DFX 


50  * 


Pain,  17^ 

I'.il.'.lin..   I     i"^.    1(5.   I'M 


Uij.  111.  177.  J07.  '"»'  "" 


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rartiiuluriMn.  41'' 

|'.j..iiiiM  r,  I'll  f. 

|'4lri.ill'ni.   Kin 

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I  rn.h'l"if\.  '^7    J"t 
'  I'l.  I.  my  I'hil.fl'lpti'i''.   147 
I'linl.htii.  111.  ItuKi" 
\.f  Ki  iriliiiii.m 

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t7'<    t'l' 


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,  (  1  .    JliX.    .''P.     -''II. 

li'i,  45.'.  457.  4'*5 


|'|,il..s.iiihy.  (iri'tk,  (>0 
Ilin'liHi,  joij 

l'liil..-»'l>liy  "'  f'l'Kiiin.  70 


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I'hylai  Urii-« 


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■r,  ¥   Ch  ,  11$ 


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ritst,  HiKh,  (I 
I'riesth'ioil  ui  Isriiii 

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rrofanation  "(  namt- 
Sfi-  llillul  ha  Sh.m 
I'miKiCaii'la,  .51.  4ii-4I<l 
I'mplicty,  ,vT.   '■** 
Priiphfti'  LiHik*.  4 J 
I'rosi-lyto,   U')l.,  411-4^3 
Protestanti>*m,  .*(),< 
Prnviilenrc.  1')7-I7S 
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'HE  following  pages  contain  advertisements  of  a 
few  of  the  Macmillan  oooks  on  kindred  subjefts. 


^i^mm^m^mms^i^i^^m^^smm^m'mmimMmjm^mMm 


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iSi»; 


Zionism  and  the  Jewish  Future 

BY  VARIOUS  WRITERS 
Edited  by  Harry  Sachf.r 


Clotk,  ijmn,  $1.00 


,Uh  .h,.  even  some  of  .hen.  Unow  more  ^^^^^^^ 2r.,.^  *,.l.  a  .„ie, . 

,«  c.n.uru,8.'-  />•«»  «>"*  •"'"'"/"- 

■    u     I         K  V„.„re  •  U  one  of  the  most  ilUiminalins  of  ,.11  the  seriou»- 
"  •  Z'oni-  -J  •"'  J-  ^  Ir^Tonr^ato  the  Hebrew  ra.e  we  w,„.ia  hr.t  ,..as..,  all 
minded  book,  of  the  year.     If  *'  "'""f  ,^^,„„  ,,  „  ,  i,v,„s  ,,Uce  amon^  .he 

.ha.  .  ».a  .boat  l>alest.,,e  and  the  - «--  °  j^^y  Iped.a,  a,„l  .o.,U  u.  e.ery.h.ng 
Nation  Next,  we  would  go  ^l^^^^'^J^^^'^^  .ore  wruers  who  have  made  th„  booU. 
^^t::':::^:'"^;;:;::,:;:.    wewo.l,Uet.n,meatonce.     No.e  .n  e,pe.a. 

the  bibliography  ..f  the  whole  matter  ' '^1  P^'J'"  *'•  ,^  ,^  „„,  ,j„„  ^,u 

..  Zionism  looks 'forward,  no,  bacUward^  and  the  va,,^p^      May  Krael  yet  h..ve  a 

help  the  non.Jewish  worK.  as  much  «  l^';^^^'  ^^  "^.f,  „,,,„„.  destine  ■  i,  e.en- 
Hebrew  University  in  Jerusalem.     Ihey    re    igh  ^^^  ^,^^  ^^  .  p^,„,^_,  ,„j 

..Uy  the  land  of  rebgious  -«-"-  ^^ ^  ^Tare  fa.rly  me,  and  fully  d.cu.cd  m 
geographical  imporiance.      The  proDiemi 

this  book,  which  Ur.  H.  Sacher  edits.  ^  j^rfecly  open  mind  on 

..  And  ho*  i.  the  Oentile  to  approach  the    ubjec.  ^  ^^^  ^     ^^ 

.„  i.s  economic,  historical  -''."''^'-^^^'in^ta.i  n  w  ch  all  right-minded  people 
Srow.  on  one;  it  presents  wholly  '"^'^f'J'^^^^,  To  have  a  •pe^feuly  open 
can  endorse  and  will    desire  to  aid  as  '"^l^'^'  ^.^.^  j.^.^ss  '  Zionism    as  our 

niind'  is  to  take  up  the  problems  of  '»>««";,"  bl  'tolerant'  or  patronising  towards 
rnends.  our  neighbors,  our  f'-^;^'^J°^^„  H  Ulande.  'we  are  '  all  of  one 
Jew  or  Gentile.  American,  European,  Asiatic.  Airic 

""^.One  of  the  best  of  Ca.ifornian  novelists,  who  has  enjoyed  the  book,  writes  as 

follows:  ,  .  ■  _    -f  -11  ,(,,  vaarnnt— and  vague  - 

.. .  U   U  an  excellent  round.up  an     expo.,  on  of  a,,^  .h^e  j  _^^^_^  __  ^^^^^    ^  ^^^ 

theories  and  h.s,ory  of  '\™' -"='■.„„",,,,, i.h  minds  Zionism  means  a  iKl.cf  in 
auction   perfectly  ^'^'-.^'^^IJ^ZVZ^  f„.  .he  oppre.,ed,  , he  motive  he-e 

.         .  t  .  ,11  I,wrv  '  "  -  Daily  Frtsno  Republican. 

tpiritual  center  for  all  Jewry.  A/»".r 


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Jewish  Philanthropy 

AN  EXPOSITION  OF  PRINCIPLES  AND  METHODS  OF 
JEWISH  SOCIAL  SERVICE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

By  BORIS  D.   BOGEN.  Ph.D. 

Cloth,  litno,  fs.oo 

This  book  is  an  attempt  to  meet  the  demand  on  the  pa-t 
of  those  who  are  engaged  in  or  are  interested  m  Jewish  so- 
cial service,  for  a  statement  of  the  principles  .  -olved  through 
the  experience  of  the  last  two  decades  in  various  philan- 
thropic  efforts  of  the  Jews  of  this  country.  It  .s  primarily 
a  compilation  of  the  different  ideas  expressed  by  the  leaders 
of  the  movements,  as  well  as  a  presentation  of  the  actua 
practical  experiences  that  were  met  in  the  different  Unes  of 

philanthropic  activity. 

As  the  first  attempt  in  this  direction  the  work  will  render 

a  great  service  in  clarifying  the  indefinite  views  in  vogue  at 

present  araong  Jewish  Social  workers. 

CONTENTS 

r^rn2  Standards  of  Relief.  Kducation  and  Social  Organ.za- 
^r  The  EdtaUon  of  Immigrants.  J-ish  Scttlernents  and 
Shborhood  Work.  Organization  and  Admmislration^  \  olun- 
air  Service  ALinislration.  The  Federation  and  the  Syna- 
gogue.    Bibliography.    Index. 


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A  History  of  Mediaeval  Jewish  Philosophy 

By  ISAAC  HUSIK 
Aasbtant  Profe«or  of  PhiloBopay  in  the  Univemty  of  Penn«ylvanm 

Cloth,  tKtavo,  I  +  ¥>2  pngt»,  *^-^ 

Tho  first  complete  history  of  niedurval  J»«wish  r&Won&X- 
istU  phut  phy  C'oth  the  student  and  the  general  reader 
wllich  hlHs  >et  iHH.p  written  in  a.»y  nio^lern  tongue. 

The  story  is  told  simply  and  interestingly.  Dr.  Hua.k 
is  iiftiHl  with  the  faculty  of  clear  insight  and  he  has  sue- 

thev  came     It  is  an  oh  ective  ami  not   oo  cnt  cal  cxposi 
tSofTwish  rationalistic  thought  in  the  middle  ages. 
In  the  words  of  an  eminent  ^ovicwc^   ' Jo  havo^^ 

consratulutcd.    To  h^""™''      [„„„.,  retlcctbns  upon 

mmmm 

heart  fheVrpetuation  of  Jewish  learmng  m  Ar.enca. 

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Studies  in  Judaism 

IJv  RAUHI  SOLOMON  SCHECHTER.  Litt.D. 

The  autlior  is  I'nsiilint  of  the  Jewish  Theological  Siminary  of  America 
since  Kwa  ;  formtrly  Reader  in  Talmuda-,  Cinit.riilgf  University,  anii  Pro- 
fessor of  Hebrew,  University  CoUcgi-  of  I^ndon,  l898-n>oa. 

CYort,  /jmo,  jt>6  fagtt,  $r.jo 

"The  book  is.  to  our  mind,  the  best  on  this  suliject  ever  written. 
The  author  tondenses  a  liter.iture  of  several  thousand  p.iges  into 
564  p.iK('S,  and  prtsents  to  us  his  histt)ry  in  a  splendid  English  and 
splendid  order.  This  work  deserves  the  highest  appreci.ition,  and 
witliout  the  slightest  hesitation  do  we  recommend  it  to  the  public  at 
large,  and  more  especially  to  our  co-religionists  in  this  country." 

—Jewish  Tribunt. 

CONTENTS 

InTKODL'CTION. 

1.  The  Chassidim. 

2.  Nachman  Kkochmai.  and  the  "Perplexities  of  the  Time." 

3.  Rakbi  Elijah  Wm-na,  Gao.\. 

4.  Naciimaniuks. 

5.  A  Jewish  Hoswf.h.. 

6.  The  D(k;mas  ok  Judaism. 

7.  Thk  History  ok  Jewish  Tradition. 

8.  The  Doctrine  of  Divine  Retribution  in  Rabbinical  Lit- 

erature. 

9.  The  Law  and  Recent  Criticism. 

10.  The  Hebrew  Collection  of  the  British  Museum. 

11.  Titles  of  Jewish  Books. 

12.  The  Child  in  Jewish  Literature. 

13.  Woman  in  Temple  and  SvNAOotiUE. 

14.  The  Earliest  Jewish  Community  in  Europe. 
Notes. 

Index. 


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